JPWO2005057395A1 - Data input device, information device, and user interface method - Google Patents

Abstract

A variety of instructions can be input accurately within a narrow range of finger movement. Rotating body arranging means having a plurality of rotating bodies arranged in the fingertip movement range and rotated by the fingertips, and pressure application position detecting means for detecting a position to which pressure associated with the downward movement of the fingertips is applied on the rotating body arranging means And a pressure release position detecting means for detecting a position where the pressure applied from the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means is released, and a fingertip that is moved by applying pressure by a fingertip that operates the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means. A fingertip movement direction detection means for detecting the movement direction of the fingertip, and an output signal of the fingertip landing position or pressure position detected by the pressure application position detection means, and an output of the fingertip movement direction detected by the fingertip movement direction detection means The information to be input is specified in combination with the signal, and braking means for braking the rotational motion of the rotating body according to the position of the fingertip or the rotational angle of the rotating body is provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a multimodal user interface technology when inputting characters and commands to information equipment, and in particular, a data input device that assists user operations by comprehensively using visual, auditory, and tactile senses, information equipment, and , User interface methods.

  Conventionally, as a data input device provided with a mechanism for stimulating a user's tactile sensation, for example, a pin display can project a pin, and a device that operates a vibrator or a drive unit incorporated in a mouse. (See Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  There is also a method of notifying the operator that the cursor has reached the target area on the screen by vibrating the pointing stick. In addition to this, there has been proposed a device that gives a tactile sensation of a virtual object by moving a fingertip to generate a pin according to the position of the fingertip to stimulate the finger. (See Patent Documents 5 to 7).

  In general, in order to input a variety of information with one finger, it is effective to specify information to be input by combining the descending position and the ascending position of the fingertip. (See Patent Documents 9 and 10).

  However, when the movement range of the finger is reduced in order to reduce the size of the device, it is difficult to accurately grasp the lowered position and the raised position that are approached within the narrow movement range.

  In order to solve this problem, when specifying information to be input in combination of the lowering position and the rising position of the fingertip, by applying different tactile stimuli depending on the position of the fingertip, the lowering position and the rising position are A system that can be clearly grasped has been devised, and the finger position can be grasped clearly while quickly moving the finger relying on the tactile sensation in a narrow range of motion to correctly input, but the mechanism is complicated. (See Patent Document 11).

  Furthermore, the shape and size of the cursor keys can be changed for each direction so that they can be distinguished by tactile sensation, and a plurality of ball-shaped protrusions are arranged on the fingertip contact part, so that the fingertips move smoothly over the ball-shaped protrusion array. On the other hand, a method of inputting information by using tactile information on the unevenness of the ball-shaped protrusion arrangement as a clue has been proposed. (See Patent Documents 12 to 14).

However, in these methods, since the unevenness is static and fixed, a clear uneven shape difference cannot be obtained even when the fingertip is moved. In addition, since information to be input is specified only by the lowered position of the fingertip, various information cannot be input unless the number of ball-shaped protrusions is increased.
JP 11-161152 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-55252 JP-A-6-102997 JP 2001-356862 A JP 2000-29623 A JP 2000-259333 A JP 2000-47792 A JP-A-10-143301 JP-A-11-224161 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-55222 JP 2002-278694 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-90922 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-353091 JP 2001-166871 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a data input device, an information device, a user interface method, and the like that can input various instructions accurately within a narrow finger movement range. With the goal.

  The data input device according to the present invention has devised a method for detecting the fingertip position without using the rotation angle of the rotating body to solve the above problems. When the fingertip applies a weak pressure on the rotating body array, the switch corresponding to the pressure application position (for detecting the position) the position of the center of gravity of the pressure is on which rotating body or between the rotating bodies Switch) detects by changing the contact state. When the rotating bodies are arranged close to each other, when a pressure is applied to the target rotating body, a finger is accidentally touched and applied to the nearby rotating body, and erroneous input is likely to occur. In particular, since a switch that changes the contact state by weak finger pressure so that the position of the fingertip can be detected by simply placing the fingertip lightly on the rotating body array, even if a slight finger touches another rotating body, an error is input. Wake up.

  In the present invention, when a seesaw-like mechanism is introduced between the rotating bodies and the target rotating body is pressurized and lowered, the lowering lowers the arm on the target rotating body at the fulcrum of the seesaw-like mechanism. Based on this principle, the arm on the opposite side is lifted across the fulcrum, which prevents other inputs from being lifted by the other rotating body. In order to further increase the resolution of position detection, a seesaw-like mechanism having two fulcrums is introduced, and the pressure application position when pressure is applied between the rotating bodies is different from the pressure application position when pressure is applied on the rotating bodies. Separately detected.

  Leaving the fingertips in a dangling state tends to cause tremors, which can lead to erroneous input. A person whose fingertips tend to tremble can suppress tremors by pressing the fingertip or part of the finger somewhere. In addition, a reaction that occurs when another button is operated with another finger may cause the fingertip to move unintentionally, and in this case, an erroneous input may occur. In this case as well, kinematically and mechanically analyze in which direction the reaction force is generated, and support a part of the finger so that the finger does not move in the direction in which the reaction force works. Can be prevented.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in order to prevent these erroneous inputs, a mechanism for supporting a part of the finger called a finger support base or a finger support rotating body is introduced. The finger support base follows the movement of the finger when changing the position of the fingertip and can move back and forth and right and left to freely change the position of the fingertip, but at an unintentional position (unintended position) In order to prevent the fingertip from applying pressure to the rotating body array, it does not move in the direction of the finger movement (downward movement) that applies pressure, and a platform (height that supports a part of the finger so that it does not move in this direction). The finger is supported at a location slightly apart from the location of the finger used during pressurization (usually the tip of the finger but sometimes using the middle abdomen). The finger applies pressure to the target position on the rotating body array by moving the finger part to be pressed by bending the joint or changing the inclination while the part supported by the table is fixed. The finger support rotator functions in the same way, but it rotates instead of moving back and forth and left and right so that the fingertip on it can be repositioned freely. Again, the height is not changed, and the fingers are supported so that they do not move in the direction of applying pressure to the rotating body array. By supporting a part of the finger with the thus configured finger support base or finger support rotating body, it is possible to suppress unintentional vertical movement of the fingertip caused by finger tremor or reaction of other fingers. While leaving the degree of freedom to move back and forth or left and right, unintentional vertical movement is eliminated to prevent erroneous input.

  Due to the above improvement, the data input device of the present invention does not need to use the rotation angle of the rotator for detecting the fingertip position, so that the rotator can rotate indefinitely without being limited by the amount of rotation angle. Therefore, coordinates can be specified using this rotating body like a trackball. However, since the rotating body of the present invention can rotate only in one direction, that is, left and right or front and rear, only one-dimensional coordinates can be specified. In order to designate one-dimensional coordinates, the data input device is configured to slide the entire rotating body array in a direction orthogonal to the rotating direction of the rotating body. Alternatively, the amount of movement or the amount of rotation of the finger support base or finger support rotator is detected and used for coordinate designation.

  In addition, by changing the interval between the rotating bodies so that the rotating body swings according to the position of the fingertips, or by creating a height difference between the rotating bodies, emphasizing the feeling of unevenness felt by the fingertips, The fingertip position can be grasped more clearly from the difference in feel of the unevenness when the fingertip is moved.

  In the present invention, when specifying information to be input by a combination of a fingertip lowering position (pressure application position) and a fingertip raising position (pressure release position), the shorter the distance between these two positions, the faster and easier the information is. Can be specified. Therefore, the input efficiency can be improved by preferentially associating characters and commands that are frequently input to the movement of the fingertip having a short distance.

  In particular, if only the fingertip movement direction immediately after the fingertip is lowered is used instead of the fingertip raising position (pressure release position), the types of information that can be specified are the fingertip lowering position (pressure application position) and the fingertip movement direction (for example, leftward) However, the input efficiency is further improved because information can be specified by a quick movement of the fingertip.

  In Internet browsers (content browsing software), move the cursor with a pointing device such as a mouse, specify an item with an underline according to the cursor position, and click the mouse button to select that item. In the present invention, instead of this underline, an icon of a pattern that suggests finger movement, or an underline or background color that is displayed as a movie to suggest finger movement is used. Thus, there is provided an information device and a user interface method for selecting a target item by marking a selection item in content and executing a finger movement suggested by the mark added to the item to be selected.

  In the present invention, even if the cursor position is not precisely positioned, only a rough positioning is performed, and a mark is displayed on a plurality of selection candidate items in the vicinity, and the finger movement suggested by the mark is immediately executed. The target item is selected. Since the positioning of the cursor takes time and involves a psychological load, a shortcut function for selecting an item instantly by pressing a specific key to select an item at high speed without moving the cursor even in the conventional method However, the means provided in the present invention also provide a kind of shortcut function, and items can be selected at high speed after the cursor position is roughly determined. At this time, since it is not necessary to keep an eye on the precise positioning of the cursor, the psychological burden is reduced. Since normal shortcuts use keys on the keyboard, it takes time to find the corresponding key and press the key, but according to this method, the target item can be selected simply by performing the finger movement suggested by the mark. Since it can be selected with a shortcut, it is easy to understand intuitively and there is no need to memorize the relationship between keys and finger movements. This method is effective not only for browsers but also for any user interface based on item selection.

  For example, when creating a sentence for electronic mail, the word creation efficiency is improved by registering frequently appearing words and expressions, selecting a term to be used from the registered terms, and inserting it into the sentence. Previously, the term was often selected using the cursor keys, but it takes time to move to the target item by moving the item one by one with the cursor key. There is a great psychological burden because it is necessary to keep a close watch on the According to the present invention, since a target term can be selected instantaneously by putting a mark on each term and performing a finger motion suggested by the mark, the efficiency of sentence creation can be improved.

  However, tactile cues such as the unevenness of the rotating body misrecognize the finger position and make input errors easily. Therefore, in the present invention, an auditory cue is first added. A different beep sound is generated according to the fingertip position, or a beep sound is generated at the moment when the fingertip position is changed so that the fingertip position can be audibly grasped to reduce erroneous input. For example, if you want to distinguish the finger position from three positions in the center and left and right of the fingertip movement range, when the finger is in the center position, it moves right and left without generating a beep. If a beep sound is generated, the left, right, and center positions can be distinguished using the beep sound as a clue. It is also possible to grasp that the finger position has changed through the beep sound by a method of generating a beep sound at the moment of moving from the central section to the left and right sections.

  In some applications, the fingertip movement and the input command may be intuitively related. For example, if the content display (reproduction) is moved in accordance with the direction of movement of the fingertip, the channel is switched, or the tape is fast-forwarded or reverse-fed, the difficulty of memorizing the relationship between the motion and the command can be avoided. For such applications, it is particularly preferable to precisely measure the amount of rotation of the rotating body with a rotary encoder or the like so that the amount of rotation corresponds to the amount of content movement.

  When the rotating body rotates smoothly, the fingertip can move smoothly while contacting the rotating body on the rotating body array, but when the fingertip comes to a predetermined position or when the rotating body rotates by a predetermined angle, the brake is rotated. When the rotation of the rotating body is braked or limited so that a part of the rotating body collides with the anti-rotation material, the user can feel the reaction force due to this braking through a force sense. For example, when the fingertip moves from the left area to the central area, if the rotation is braked for a moment at the boundary between the two areas and a reaction force is applied to the user's fingertip, the user feels the reaction force applied for a moment through force sense, You can know what has changed. Alternatively, if the rotation is stopped so that it can no longer be moved when the necessary amount is moved, the user can know that the necessary amount has been moved through the rotation being stopped. In the present invention, such a braking mechanism is introduced so that the user can grasp the position of the fingertip more clearly.

Specifically, the data input device according to the present invention includes a rotating body arranging means having a plurality of rotating bodies arranged in a movement range of a fingertip and rotated by the fingertip, an upper base supporting the rotating body arranging means, and the upper part A pressure application position detecting means provided between a lower base positioned below the base and detecting a pressure application position by applying a pressure accompanying a downward movement of the fingertip to the rotary body arranging means; A pressure release position detecting means for detecting a pressure release position at which the pressure applied from the fingertip is released and a moving direction of the fingertip that is moved by applying pressure by a fingertip that operates the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means are detected. A fingertip movement direction detection means, and by combining output signals from at least one of the pressure application position detection means and the pressure release position detection means and the fingertip movement direction detection means. , And wherein the information to be input can be specified.
Preferably, the rotating body arranging means may be formed so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the rotating direction of the rotating body.

  In the present invention, it is possible to accurately input various information by combining the moving direction of the fingertip and the applied signal of the pressure with the data from the rotating body arrangement means for the user to input data while confirming his / her operation by the tactile sensation. To do.

  Preferably, the fingertip moving direction detecting means is provided with a rotating direction detecting means for detecting the rotating direction of the rotating body, and the direction in which the fingertip moves is detected based on the rotating direction of the rotating body detected by the rotating direction detecting means. It is desirable to do so. Further, the rotation amount of the rotating body or the finger support rotating body or the movement amount of the finger support base is detected, and coordinates are designated in an information device such as a computer device based on the rotation amount or the movement amount. The operability is improved.

  Further, the data input device according to the present invention includes a position detection switch for detecting a position by changing a contact state in accordance with a position where pressure by a weak fingertip applied to the rotating body acts, and a pressure application position detecting means Is provided with a pressure detection switch that changes the contact state when a pressure relatively higher than the pressure that changes the contact state of the position detection switch is applied from the fingertip, and the contact state by the pressure detection switch and the weakness applied from the fingertip It is characterized in that the contact state by the position detection switch determined according to the position of the correct pressure is detected separately.

In the present invention, two types of switches for position detection and pressure detection are provided, and the position detection switch is operated with a relatively smaller force than the pressure detection switch.
Here, “weak” means that the position detection switch operates but the contact state of the pressure detection switch does not change.

  In the data input device according to the present invention, the position detection switch is formed by a seesaw mechanism capable of seesaw movement on the upper base, and includes a conductive arm member that rotatably supports the rotating body, and is applied from a fingertip. When the rotating body at the fingertip position is lowered relative to the other rotating bodies by a weak pressure to change the contact state of the position detection switch, the arm that supports the rotating body on the descending side is the upper base. It is characterized in that the other rotating body is lifted through the arm on the other side by landing and performing seesaw motion.

  In the present invention, the contact state is changed exclusively by a weak pressure by the above-described seesaw mechanism in the left-right direction or the front-rear direction, and the rotation amount can be manipulated by the lowering rotary body.

  Preferably, the arm member is lifted by a conductive elastic body attached to the upper base, and when the pressure is released, all of the position detection switches are brought into contact with each other, thereby releasing the arm member. Is preferably configured to be identifiable. Diversification of control using this data input device and data reliability can be improved.

  An information device according to the present invention is an information device having means for designating information to be input by combining the landing position or pressure position of a fingertip and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing. By displaying the background color, underline, icon, etc. of the item displayed on the screen statically or dynamically with a pattern or animation that suggests the fingertip landing position or pressure position and the fingertip movement direction Alternatively, a means for selecting a corresponding item when performing finger movement suggested by the animation is provided.

In the present invention, a plurality of modes can be selected by a simple operation by performing identification display (mark) suggesting finger movement on selectable items.
Here, the “information device” means a computer device or a device incorporating a computer, and includes a so-called control device and a mobile phone.
In addition, you may make it provide the means to change the sound output according to a fingertip position, and to notify a fingertip position aurally.

  Further, the information device according to the present invention is an information device comprising means for designating information to be input by combining the landing position of the fingertip and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing, the fingertip movement direction, The moving direction of the display / playback range of content such as video, music, and text is displayed in association with the display.

  In the present invention, a plurality of modes can be easily controlled by associating fingertip movements with functions such as content display / playback.

  The information device according to the present invention further includes content browsing means for browsing content such as video, music, and text through an Internet communication network or storage device, and there are a plurality of content browsing means in the vicinity of the target position in the content. A selection candidate detecting means for detecting the selection candidate item, and a mark as the selection candidate item detected by the selection candidate detecting means is statically or dynamically displayed on the display so as to suggest finger movement. Features.

  Preferably, text registration means for registering frequently occurring text units is provided, and the text unit mark registered in the text registration means is statically or dynamically displayed on the display so as to suggest finger movement. It is good to.

  In addition, the information device according to the present invention is provided with a rotating body arranging means having a plurality of rotating bodies that are arranged in the movement range of the fingertips and rotated by the fingertips, and a pressure accompanying a downward movement of the fingertips is applied on the rotating body arranging means. Pressure detecting position detecting means for detecting the position to be detected, pressure releasing position detecting means for detecting the position where the pressure applied from the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means is released, and operating the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means Fingertip movement direction detecting means for detecting the moving direction of the fingertip that moves when pressure is applied by the fingertip, and the fingertip landing position or pressure position is detected by detecting the pressure application position, and the fingertip movement is detected by the fingertip moving direction detecting means. It is characterized by detecting a direction.

  In the present invention, the movement of the fingertip is detected in detail by each of these means, thereby enabling a complicated operation of the information device using only the fingertip.

  Furthermore, the information device according to the present invention is provided with a rotating body arranging means having a plurality of rotating bodies that are arranged in the movement range of the fingertip and rotated by the fingertips, and a pressure accompanying the downward movement of the fingertips is applied on the rotating body arranging means. Pressure detecting position detecting means for detecting the position to be detected, pressure releasing position detecting means for detecting the position where the pressure applied from the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means is released, and operating the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means A fingertip moving direction detecting means for detecting a moving direction of the fingertip that moves when pressure is applied by the fingertip, and an output signal of a fingertip landing position or a pressure position detected by the pressure applying position detecting means, and a fingertip moving direction In combination with the output signal of the fingertip movement direction detected by the detection means, the information to be input is specified, and the rotation body of the rotating body is determined according to the position of the fingertip or the rotation angle of the rotating body. Characterized in that a braking means for braking the rolling movement.

  In the present invention, the rotational movement of the rotating body is braked particularly in accordance with the position or rotation angle of the fingertip, so that the braking force is transmitted to the fingertip, and the operator does not look at the rotating body to see how much the rotation angle is. Can also be recognized.

  The information device according to the present invention creates a mode table that associates and stores a switch state and mode identification information (mode ID), and creates correspondence information that associates one or more selection candidate items with mode identification information. After temporarily saving and outputting switch operation information for selecting a selection candidate item, input switch state data, refer to the mode table, extract mode identification information corresponding to the switch state, and Based on the information, a selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is extracted, and an individual function selection unit that performs output for notifying that the selection candidate item is selected, and selected by the individual function selection unit And individual function executing means for executing processing related to the selection candidate item.

  In the present invention, in the operating state of the information device, a table in which the switch state and the mode ID are associated in advance is stored, the mode ID is assigned to the extracted selection candidate item, and the switch operation information corresponding to the mode ID is stored. The operator is notified, and then the switch state is read, the corresponding item is extracted by referring to the mode table, and the related processing is executed.

  A user interface method according to the present invention is a user interface method for designating information to be input by combining the landing position or pressure position of a fingertip and the direction of movement of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing. The background color, underline, icon, etc. of the items displayed on the screen are displayed statically or dynamically in a pattern or animation that suggests the fingertip landing position or pressure position and the direction of fingertip movement. The item is selected when the finger movement suggested in the above is executed.

  In the present invention, the movement of the fingertip for selecting an item is represented by a mark on the screen, and the corresponding item is selected by detecting the movement of the fingertip.

  The user interface method according to the present invention includes a content browsing means for browsing content such as video, music, and text through an Internet communication network and a storage device, and a plurality of content browsing means in the vicinity of a target position in the content. The selection candidate detection means for detecting the selection candidate item is used, and the mark as the selection candidate item detected by the selection candidate detection means is statically or dynamically displayed on the display so as to suggest finger movement. It is characterized by.

  In the present invention, a plurality of selection candidate items in the vicinity of the target position in the content, for example, near the cursor, are detected, and information indicating a finger movement is displayed as a mark for selecting the item, Allows the operator to select the desired item.

  In the user interface method according to the present invention, a rotating body arranging means having a plurality of rotating bodies arranged in a movement range of a fingertip and rotated by the fingertip, and a pressure accompanying a downward movement of the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means are applied. A pressure applying position detecting means for detecting a position; a pressure releasing position detecting means for detecting a position where pressure applied from the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means is released; and a fingertip for operating the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means And a fingertip movement direction detecting means for detecting the movement direction of the fingertip that is moved by applying pressure, and detecting the fingertip landing position or the pressurizing position by the pressure application position detecting means, and the fingertip movement direction detecting means It is characterized by detecting the direction of motion.

  In the present invention, the fingertip movement is detected based on the fingertip movement direction and the fingertip landing position or pressure position.

  The user interface method according to the present invention further combines the output signal of the fingertip landing position or the pressure position detected by the pressure application position detection and the output signal of the fingertip movement direction detected by the fingertip movement direction detection means. The information to be input is designated, and the rotational motion of the rotating body is braked according to the position of the fingertip or the rotational angle of the rotating body.

  In addition, the user interface method related to mode selection of the present invention includes an execution switch capable of distinguishing at least two states, a non-pressurized state and a pressurized state, and changes the state of the execution switch located above the execution switch. It is possible to discriminate between the released state and the used state provided on a table to which pressure can be applied. In the used state, it is possible to input at least three types of position states, left, right, and center. A user interface method for inputting each switch state of a data input device having a mode selection switch to be switched by the information device and selecting an item for operating the information device according to the switch state, wherein the execution switch is in a non-pressurized state For each pressurizing state, the position of the mode selection switch and the mode identification for selecting items of information equipment The information is stored in association with each other, and the mode identification information including the non-pressurized mode identification information and the pressurized mode identification information is uniquely assigned to each of the plurality of selection candidate items. The finger operation information related to the pressure mode identification information is output, and the state of the mode selection switch is input from the data input device. Thereafter, when the execution switch changes to the pressurization state, the input mode selection switch The mode identification information of the non-pressurized state is determined from the state, one or more selection candidate items corresponding to the mode identification information are extracted, and the mode identification information at the time of pressurization is extracted for the extracted selection candidate items. The finger operation information is output, the state of the mode selection switch is input from the data input device, and when the execution switch changes to the non-pressurized state, the input is performed. The mode identification information of the pressurized state is determined from the state of the mode selection switch, and information indicating that the selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is finally selected is output, and then within a predetermined time When there is no release input, the process related to the finally selected selection candidate item is executed.

  In the present invention, a mode ID is provided for each ON state and OFF state of the execution switch (center button), and in the operation state of the information device, it is assigned to the selection candidate item, so that a desired one of the plurality of selection candidate items is desired Make it easy to select items. This also enables hierarchical mode selection.

  Preferably, the timer is started when the mode selection switch is in the center position state from the left or right position state of the mode selection switch, and the timer is stopped when the other position state is reached. It is desirable to use the value as an operating parameter for information equipment. With the binary input switch, analog data can be input with a simple operation.

  The program according to the present invention can execute at least two states, a non-pressurized state and a pressurized state, and can apply pressure to change the state of the execution switch above the execution switch. There is a mode selection switch provided on the table, in which the release state and the use state can be discriminated, and at the time of the use state, at least three kinds of position states of the left and right and the center can be input, and the left and right are switched by a seesaw mechanism. A program for inputting each switch state of the data input device to the information device and controlling the operation of the information device according to the switch state, and for each non-pressurized state and pressurized state of the execution switch, A process for associating and saving each position state and mode identification information for selecting an information device item, and for a plurality of selection candidate items In addition, a process for uniquely assigning mode identification information composed of mode identification information in the non-pressurized state and mode identification information in the pressurized state, and finger operation information related to the mode identification information in the non-pressurized state are output. The process of inputting the state of the mode selection switch from the data input device and when the execution switch changes to the pressurized state, the mode identification information of the non-pressurized state is determined from the state of the input mode selection switch, and the One or more selection candidate items corresponding to the mode identification information are extracted, finger operation information of the mode identification information at the time of pressurization is output for the extracted selection candidate items, and the mode selection switch of the mode selection switch is output from the data input device. When the state input process and the execution switch change to the non-pressurized state, the mode identification information of the pressurized state is obtained from the state of the input mode selection switch. Information indicating that the selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is finally selected, and if there is no release input within a predetermined time, the final selection is performed. The present invention is characterized in that a process related to a selection candidate item is executed and a computer is caused to execute it.

  Here, the “mode” mainly means the operation mode and processing content of the information device, but is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that some selection is possible, and includes the item when there are a plurality of selectable items. It is the purpose.

  According to the present invention, by using the means for detecting the position where the pressure is applied from the fingertip (pressure application position) without using the switch that changes the contact state depending on the rotation angle of the rotating body, the fingertip is constantly restrained from contacting the rotating body. This frees up a wide range of accurate and rapid data entry within a narrow range of finger movement.

  In addition, in content browsers (browsing methods), the efficiency of item selection is improved by introducing a means for instantly selecting items corresponding to finger movements without determining the cursor position precisely. Mitigation can be achieved.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the present invention, the direction of movement of the fingertip is defined as shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the right thumb placed on the data input device and the direction of movement. The direction in which pressure is applied vertically on the finger pad is `` down '', the reverse direction is `` up '', the fingernail direction from the base of the finger is `` front '', and the reverse is `` back '', viewed from the operator side in the direction perpendicular to these directions. "Right" or "Left". The same applies to operation using other fingers instead of the right thumb.

  The operator operates a switch disposed on the data input device by moving his / her fingertip in the front / rear / right / left and up / down directions indicated by arrows in FIG. Note that the definition of the direction is for the purpose of specifying the present invention or describing the embodiment, and the direction can be determined by another definition rather than a universal one.

<Data input device>
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of the data input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from above. Reference numerals 1 and 2 denote rotating bodies that rotate about the wires 3 and 4, respectively, and the fingertips on the rotating bodies smoothly move to the left and right while riding on the rotating body as the rotating body rotates. At this time, the fingertip can obtain a tactile sensation by using the rotating body as a convex portion and the gap between the rotating bodies as a concave portion, and can grasp the fingertip position based on the tactile information. Even if the rotating bodies 1 and 2 are arranged close to each other, the fingertip position can be clearly distinguished by tactile cues, so that data can be input without error.

In FIG. 2, the wires 3 and 4 are the rotating shafts of the rotating bodies 1 and 2 and are supporting columns of the rotating body that are bent in the middle and lift the rotating body from the base 9 and are made of a conductive material and will be described later. It also functions as an energization path for the switch mechanism. The wires 3 and 4 are integrated to form one loop, and this loop passes through arches 6 and 7 made of conductive wire. A unit in which two rotating bodies (right rotating body 1 and left rotating body 2) are integrated through loop-shaped wires 3 and 4 will be referred to as a rotating body array hereinafter.
The inner diameter of the arched wires 6 and 7 is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the wires 3 and 4, and the loop formed by the wires 3 and 4 is surrounded by the arched wires 6 and 7 and connected to the base 9. However, since it is connected with play within the range of the inner diameter of the arch, it can swing with respect to the base 9.

  Further, the base 9 is connected to another lower base 8 through hinges 10, 11, and 12. When the rotating bodies 1 and 2 receive a downward force from the fingertips on the top, the base 9 is connected to the rotary shaft 12 of the hinge. It bends and falls downward together with the rotating bodies 1 and 2. Reference numeral 11 denotes a joint portion between the hinge part 10 and the base 8. The conductor 5 is a conductor that is disposed in a portion where the wire loops 3 and 4 are in contact with the base 9 and energizes in contact with the loops 3 and 4. The arched wires 6 and 7 have conductivity, but the surface of the portion that rises vertically from the base 9 is covered with an insulating coating, so that no electric current is applied even if they contact the wires 3, 4, and 5. However, in the horizontal part of the upper part of the arched wires 6 and 7, this insulating coating is scraped off to expose the internal conductor, and the wire 3 or 4 is energized when it is lifted and brought into contact therewith.

  FIG. 3A shows a side view and FIG. 3B shows a front view of a part of the data input device shown in FIG. The vertical standing part of the arched wire 6 is covered with an insulating film 13, and when the base 9 is bent at the rotating shaft 12 of the hinge and descends, the lower part is the button part above the switch 14 for detecting the vertical movement. Is pressed and the switch 14 is turned on. A unit in which the two rotating bodies 1 and 2 are integrated through the looped wires 3 and 4 will be referred to as a rotating body arrangement hereinafter. The switch 14 applies and releases a pressure applied by the fingertip descending motion to the rotating body array (hereinafter referred to as “pressure accompanying the fingertip descending motion” in order to distinguish it from the weak pressure used for detecting the fingertip position). To detect. The start time and end time of finger pressing (landing) are detected through ON / OFF of the switch 14.

  Each figure of FIG. 4 shows a state in which the apparatus of FIG. 2 is viewed from the front. When the fingertip that is in contact with the rotating body array with a minute pressure moves left and right, the barycentric position of the minute pressure applied from the fingertip to the rotating body array changes according to the fingertip position. For example, in FIG. 4A, the position of the center of gravity comes to the left side of the rotating body toward the drawing, and the rotating body array behaves in the same manner as a seesaw with the portion indicated by 15 as a fulcrum and tilts to the left side. At this time, the left side of the loop wire (3, 4), which is a conductor, is in contact with the conductor 5, and the right side is in contact with the conductor 7, so that the conductor 5 and the conductor 7 are energized. Detecting that the fingertip has come to the left on the drawing. In FIG. 4 (b), the center of gravity is located at an intermediate point between the fulcrum 15 and the fulcrum 16, so that the rotating body arrangement is kept horizontal, and there is no energization relationship between the conductors 5, 6, and 7, so Detect that there is. In FIG.4 (c), a gravity center position comes to the right rotating body side, and the rotating body arrangement | positioning inclines to the right side about the site | part shown in 16 as a fulcrum. At this time, the left side of the loop wire (3, 4), which is a conductor, is in contact with the conductor 6, and the right side is in contact with the conductor 5, and the conductor 5 and the conductor 6 are energized. Detecting that the fingertip has come to the right side on the drawing.

  As described above, in the method shown in FIG. 4, switches are formed between the conductor 5 and the conductor 6 and between the conductor 5 and the conductor 7, and these two switches are turned on and off according to the position of the fingertip. Will be detected. When one of the contacts of these two switches is turned on, the other is inevitably turned off. That is, the contact state between the two is determined exclusively. Such an exclusive mechanism is effective for the purpose of reliably turning on only the target switch within a narrow range. When the target rotator is pushed from among the rotators arranged close to each other, the fingertip inevitably touches the adjacent rotator and exerts a weak pressure there. According to the method, it is possible to detect the finger position by pushing down the target rotating body exclusively or selectively.

  In the method of FIG. 4, the rotating body array is supported by two fulcrums, and the seesaw shape changes in three ways depending on which side the center of gravity of the force applied from the fingertip is on the fulcrum. The mechanism is configured. The loop-shaped wires (3, 4) play the role of a seesaw arm, and when the fingertip comes to the right or left side of the three zones, the rotating body on the fingertip position side descends and the seesaw-like mechanism The arm on the fingertip position side of the fulcrum is pushed down, and as a result, the arm on the opposite side of the fulcrum is pushed up to lift the other rotating body. When the fingertip is in the central area, the arm does not move and there is no height difference between the rotating bodies. In this way, the height difference between the rotating bodies varies depending on the fingertip position, so that the fingertip position can be clearly distinguished by feeling it with a tactile sense.

  In the method of FIG. 4, in order to detect a weak pressure generated only by lightly touching the rotating body array with the fingertip, the contact state of the switch is devised so as to change with the weakest possible force. A normal switch uses a spring to restore the contact state. However, if a spring is used, weak pressure cannot be detected. Therefore, the method shown in FIG. Change the state and switch the conduction relationship. In order to change the contact state of the switch without using a spring, and to restore it, the power of the fingertip itself is effectively used. In order to reduce the contact resistance, it is better to solder the wires directly to the loop wires 3, 4, but the loop wires 3, 4 are both energized through the conductor 5. 4 is a device for smooth movement. In addition, the method of FIG. 4 has an advantage that the fingertip can be moved very smoothly without requiring a force to move the fingertip because the switch is switched by the movement of the center of gravity without applying a force in the moving direction of the fingertip and pressing the switch. If cost is acceptable, switching can be similarly performed without using force by an optical method or a capacitance method.

  Thus, the switch for detecting the finger position changes the contact state with a relatively weak force (very weak force) than the switch 14 for detecting the pressure accompanying the downward movement of the fingertip. When the contact state of the two changes with the force applied in the same direction, the switch that changes the contact state with a weak force is switched first. Therefore, when the switch 14 is turned on by the downward movement of the fingertip, the position of the fingertip is always detected before that. The contact state of the switch to be determined will be determined. Therefore, in the method of FIG. 4, it is ensured that the timing for detecting the position is always ahead of the detection of the descent motion (pressurization), and erroneous input caused by the timing delay can be prevented.

  The contact detection switch (ON or OFF) is strengthened by the force in the same direction (the force acting in the downward direction) for both the switch for detecting the position and the switch for moving the fingertip downward. It is also important. If the directions of the two do not match, when a force is applied to ensure one contact, the other contact is weakened, causing erroneous input. In the method of FIG. 4, unless the center of gravity of the pressure descending the fingertip is changed, the contact of the switch is strengthened, and the position of the fingertip is stably maintained. Furthermore, the position detection method shown in FIG. 4 is stable against perturbation of the finger position. That is, even if the finger moves a little within the set area, the position detection switch is turned ON / OFF (the conductors 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are not moved as long as the finger does not move beyond the fulcrum of the seesaw-like mechanism. The contact relationship is not changed.

  Even if the fingertip position is detected by an optical method instead of the method of detecting the fingertip pressure by the mechanical switch described above, “without using a switch that changes the contact state by the rotation of the rotating body”. The fingertip position can be detected.

  When obtaining the finger position using the absolute angle of the rotating body in the conventional method, it is necessary to move the fingertip while keeping it in contact with the rotating body, but between the rotation angle of the rotating body and the amount of movement of the fingertip. Since there is a certain relationship, the fingertip position can be determined from the rotation angle of the rotating body. For example, if a suitable switch is pressed and turned on when the rotating body rotates a predetermined angle, it can be detected that the fingertip has reached a predetermined position through ON / OFF of the switch. However, it is psychologically stressful that the fingertip is always in contact with the device during operation, and the operability of the input device is also reduced. On the other hand, in the method of FIG. 3, the fingertip position is detected based on the position of the center of gravity of the minute pressure applied from the fingertips placed on the rotating body array, so it is not necessary to keep the fingertip in contact with the rotating body, and the fingertip is separated from the rotating body. Even if it moves in the air and landed at a distant point, the fingertip position can be correctly detected based on the position of the center of gravity of the pressure applied there. If the fingertip can be released freely during the operation, it is possible to jump and move to the target position at high speed, thereby improving the input efficiency.

  In addition, when using a switch that changes the contact state when the rotating body is rotated by a predetermined angle amount in order to detect the fingertip position, the amount of rotation of the rotating body is limited. When the fingertip position is detected, the rotating body can rotate indefinitely. Therefore, if the amount of rotation of the rotating body is measured, coordinate designation (pointing) can be performed with the same operation feeling as that of the trackball. This mechanism is shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a rotary encoder 20 that detects the light reflected from the striped reflection band provided on the surface of the rotator or inside the rotators 1 and 2 to measure the amount of rotation of the rotator. Indicates.
The rotary encoder 20 is integrated with the rotating body array, and the relative positional relationship with the rotating body is kept constant even if the position of the rotating body array changes. When the change in the posture of the rotating body array is minute, the amount of rotation can be measured even if the rotary encoder 20 is installed on a table without being integrated with the rotating body array. Here, a method of optically detecting the amount of rotation and the direction of rotation is shown, but it may be detected electrically through a contact.
The movement amount of the fingertip can be calculated from the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the rotating body thus detected.

  With respect to the relationship between the movement of the fingertip and the switch, the vertical movement shown in FIG. As for the movement in the left-right direction, since the inner diameter of the arched wires 6 and 7 is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the wires 3 and 4 as described above, the rotating body arrangement is as shown in FIG. The posture is changed in accordance with the (pressing position downward), and as a result, the contact state between the wires 3 and 4 and the arched wires 6 and 7 changes, and the contact state is detected by electrically detecting the contact state. The position can be distinguished. In the example of FIG. 4, it is possible to distinguish between the case where the fingertip is on the rotating body 1, the case where the fingertip is on 2, and the case where the fingertip is at an intermediate point between the two.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram when the switch 14 is further introduced and the switch 14 is mounted on the base 8. When pressure is applied downward from the fingertips on the rotating body arrangement, the table 9 is bent and lowered by the rotating shaft 12 of the hinge, and the lower part of the table 9 comes into contact with the switch 14 for detecting the vertical motion, and the switch 14 is turned ON. . The start time and end time of finger pressing (landing) are detected through ON / OFF of the switch 14.

  As described above, when the mechanism shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 is used, the finger position is detected through the contact state between the wires 3 and 4 and the arched wires 6 and 7, and the fingertip landing position (additional position) is determined from the fingertip position when the switch 14 is turned ON / OFF. Pressure position) and the movement direction of the fingertip after landing. Alternatively, the movement direction of the fingertip can be determined from the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the rotating body detected by the rotary encoder 20. Even if the finger is intended to be stationary, the rotating body may be moved minutely by mistake, so it is desirable to determine that the fingertip has moved only when the amount of rotation detected by the rotary encoder 20 exceeds a predetermined angle. . Since the information on the moving direction can be obtained redundantly from the contact state of the rotary encoder and the wire, one of them can be omitted, and the redundancy can be used for improving the reliability of detecting the rotational direction and the fingertip landing position.

  The method of using the rotating body array has been described above. However, instead of the rotating body array, a single rotating body such as a trackball can be used, or a stand on which the fingertip slides with the fingertip after landing is used. Alternatively, it is possible to use a pad in which the fingertip moves while sliding with a small frictional force. However, since the absolute position of the fingertip landing point cannot be detected only with a conventional trackball or pad, it cannot be used in the present invention. Although the relative movement direction and amount of movement of the fingertip can be detected with a conventional trackball or pad, for use in the present invention, the wires 3 and 4 and the arched wires 6 and 7 are attached to the trackball and pad. A mechanism for detecting the absolute position of the fingertip landing by adding a mechanism for detecting the contact state, etc., and determining information to be input by combining this absolute position and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or immediately after landing is indispensable.

  In addition, the pad is uneven to tactilely grasp the fingertip landing position, and the repulsive force is generated by braking the rotation of the trackball by a predetermined amount to grasp the pressure position forcefully Then, it is better to introduce a mechanism to notify that the necessary amount has been rotated.

  Further, if necessary, the rotating body may be arranged in the front-rear direction, or the combination of the rotating body and the contact for detecting the direction of finger movement may be arranged in the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the intermediate direction between them.

  In addition, by providing the rotating body and the contact shown in FIG. 3 in the front-rear direction, it is possible to detect the movement of the finger not only in the left-right direction but also in the front-rear direction, but by moving the device in FIG. You may make it detect a motion.

  An example of this configuration is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the table 8 moves smoothly in the front-rear direction following the movement of the fingertip in the front-rear direction by the wheels 21, and the amount and direction of movement are detected by the optical detector 22. In the method shown in FIG. 6, the rotation of the rotating body and the slide movement of the apparatus are used properly, and the former specifies the coordinate in the left-right direction, and the latter specifies the coordinate in the front-rear direction. This is convenient because the movement of the cursor in the left-right direction and the movement in the front-rear direction can be distinguished by tactile sensation due to the difference in the feeling of slide movement.

  When the fingertip is moved in the front-rear direction, the position of the fingertip in the front-rear direction can be detected by a seesaw-like mechanism having two fulcrums as in the case of moving left and right. For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 7, when the position of the rotating body array moves in the front-rear direction, the center of gravity position of the pressure applied from the fingertip placed on the rotating body array also moves in the front-rear direction. Depending on which side of fulcrum 30, 31 the seesaw-shaped mechanism is tilted as shown in FIGS. 7 (a), 7 (b), 7 (c), and switch contacts 26, 27, 28, 29 are switched. Three positions in the direction can be distinguished and detected.

  With the mechanism described above, the user determines the fingertip landing position while referring to the tactile cues received at the fingertip, and distinguishes whether the fingertip is raised without changing the position of the fingertip after landing, or moved to the left and right. Further, it is possible to input different information by combining the finger movements in the front-rear direction. During this operation, the input device side detects the fingertip landing position and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing, and determines information to be input based on a combination of both. At this time, only the tactile cues may mistake the landing position or the pressure position, and it is difficult to memorize the relationship between the finger movement and the input information, so the auditory cues, visual cues, and haptic cues It is desirable to use it together to construct a multimodal user interface and to assist the user's work in many ways.

The specific user interface method will be described below.
<Information equipment>
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the computer device 60. A computer device main body 66 is connected to the input unit 50 including the data input device 51 via an interface cable 90.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the data input device 51 has a front contact 29, a rear contact 28, and an optical detector 22 for inputting a forward movement amount and a backward movement amount, and further, an upper portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, a center button (execution button) 14, a right rotating body 1, a left rotating body 2, a right contact 7, and a left contact 6 are provided. In the above description, the arched wire 6 or the conductor 6 is called. However, the operator (user) constitutes a contact point that conducts when the left rotating body 2 or the arm 4 is pressed. In the following description, it will be referred to as a left contact, and similarly, the arched wire 7 or the conductor 7 will be referred to as a right contact.

  The interface means 52 converts the status signal of each switch and contact of the data input device 51 into a predetermined electric signal for computer input such as USB.

  The computer device 60 includes an interface unit 61 for exchanging data with the input unit 50, a processing unit 62 for performing calculations using the input data, a storage unit 63 including a memory for storing data, a display device, and the like Display unit 65 and a display memory 64 for sending data to the display unit 65.

  In addition, the processing unit 62 is a switch state input unit (function) 71 for inputting a switch or contact state of the data input device 51, and an individual function selection unit (function) for selecting a unit (function) to be executed according to the switch state. 72, one or two or more individual function executing means (functions) 74 which are activated by a command from the individual function selecting means 72 and execute predetermined processing. The individual function execution means 74 includes a scroll execution means (function) 75 for executing screen scroll processing, a link means (function) 76 for jumping to a link destination added to the screen display data, and the like. . Each means 71-76 is implement | achieved by the process of a computer. In addition, the storage unit 63 associates the state file 81 that stores the switch state, the window displayed on the display unit 65, the cursor position range in the window, and the identification information (individual function ID) of the function to be executed. And an individual function selection file 82 to be stored, a mode table 83 to store the switches and contacts of the data input device 51 and mode identification information (mode ID) in association with each other.

Next, the operation of the computer device 60 having the above configuration will be described.
<Data input processing>
First, the data input process of the switch state input means 71 will be described. The switch state input unit 71 is periodically activated, reads data from the input unit 50, and stores it in the state file 81. FIG. 10 is a data configuration example of the state file 81. The state of the center button 14, the left and right front and rear contacts 6, 7, 29, 28, the rotation amount of the rotating bodies 1 and 2, and the front and rear movement amount are sequentially updated. Further, as the state of each switch changes, the center button flag, the left input flav, the right input flag, the front input flag, and the rear input flag are set and reset. Each state may be converted into a predetermined code and stored for the convenience of subsequent computer processing. For example, if the left contact is ON, it is converted to a USB keypad “8” press signal, and if the left contact is OFF, it is converted to a USB keypad “8” release signal and input to the computer device. Or
When the center button is ON, it is converted into a “backspace” press signal of the keyboard, and when the center button is OFF, it is converted into a “backspace” release signal of the keyboard and input to the computer device.
Further, the state change detection may be performed on the data input device side, and input to the computer device may be performed at the timing when it is turned ON or OFF.

<Individual function selection processing>
Next, the operation of the individual function selection means 72 will be described with reference to FIG. The individual function selection unit 72 is activated periodically or by a state change notification from the switch state input unit 71, and first acquires cursor position information (S101). Next, referring to the status file 81, it is determined whether or not the central button 14 is ON (S102). If the central button 14 is ON, the individual function selection file 82 shown in FIG. Then, the individual function ID associated with the window indicated by the cursor or the function being activated is extracted (S103). The individual function ID may be provided not only for each window but also for each position range in the window. For example, the vertical scroll function is activated when the area A in the window shown in FIG. 13 is pointed, the horizontal scroll function is activated when the area B is pointed, and the link function is activated otherwise.
Then, the process corresponding to the extracted individual function ID is executed by the individual function executing means 74 (S104).

  On the other hand, if “No” in step S102, that is, if the center button 14 is OFF, it is next determined whether any of the left contact, right contact, front contact, or rear contact is ON (S105). If it is ON, a cursor movement process is executed (S106). As the cursor movement process, for example, when either one of the contacts is ON, the movement speed is changed depending on the rotation angle of the rotating body or the amount of movement of the optical detector. There are ways to change it.

  When both the left contact and the front contact are ON, processing such as oblique movement in the upper left direction may be performed.

<Individual function execution processing>
Next, as the individual function execution unit 74 activated in step S104, a scroll function 75 and a link function 76 will be described as examples.

(Scroll function)
First, the operation of the horizontal scroll executing means 73 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 14, when the scroll execution means 73 is activated in response to the activation request from the individual function selection means 72, it first determines whether or not the center button flag is ON with reference to the state file 81 (S201). If the center button flag is ON, the scroll flag is set to “neutral” (S202). Then, the scroll speed detection is stopped (S203), and then it is determined whether or not the left input flag has changed after activation or from the previous determination (S204), and if there has been a change, the left pressing process is executed. (S205).

  If there is no change in the left input flag in step S204, it is next determined whether or not there is a change in the right input flag (S206). If there is a change, right pressing processing is executed (S207). If neither the left input flag nor the right input flag is changed (“No” in S206), the center pressing process is executed (S208). Then, after each process (S205, S207, S208), it is determined whether or not the scroll process is finished (S211). If not finished, the process returns to step S204 to repeat the process. Note that as the determination condition in step S211, the scroll process is terminated when the center button flag changes from ON to OFF, or when the cursor is out of the scroll function range.

  On the other hand, if “No” in step S201, that is, if the center button flag is OFF, the scroll flag is set to “neutral” (S209), and scroll speed detection is stopped (S210).

Next, the operation of the left press input process (S205) will be described with reference to FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not the left input flag is ON (S401). If it is ON, it is next determined whether or not the scroll flag is “Right → Left Scrolling” (S402). ). If “Yes” in step S402, the scroll speed detection ends (S403), and the scroll process from right to left is executed (S404).

Here, the scroll speed is determined by a software timer that is activated at the start of scroll speed detection and stopped at the end of scroll speed detection. When the timer value is large, the scroll speed is slow, and when the timer value is small, the screen is scrolled at high speed. To do.
Thereafter, the scroll flag is set to “Right → Left scroll end” (S405). Note that the coordinate range information of the individual function selection file 82 is also sequentially updated by scroll processing.

If “No” in step S401, that is, if the left input flag is OFF, it is next determined whether or not the scroll flag is “Right → Left scroll end” (S406). If “Yes”, scrolling is performed. The flag is set to “neutral” and the process ends (S407).
If “No” in step S406, the scroll flag is set to “left to right scrolling” (S408), and detection of the scroll speed is started (S409).

Next, the operation of the right press input process will be described with reference to FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not the right input flag is ON (S601). If it is ON, it is next determined whether or not the scroll flag is “left to right scrolling” (S602). ). If “Yes” in step S602, the scroll speed detection is finished (S603), and the scroll process from left to right is executed at a speed determined based on the timer value (S604). Thereafter, the scroll flag is set to “left → right scroll end” (S605).

If “No” in step S601, that is, if the right input flag is OFF, it is next determined whether or not the scroll flag is “left to right scroll end” (S606). If “Yes”, scrolling is performed. The flag is set to “neutral” and the process ends (S607).
If “No” in step S606, the scroll flag is set to “right to left scrolling” (S608), and detection of the scroll speed is started (S609).

  Through the above processing, scrolling in the left or right direction is executed using the state of the left contact, the right contact, and the center button. In the above processing, when scrolling to the right, the operator presses the left contact of the data input device 51, and then scrolls to the right when the finger is moved while sliding the pressing position from the center to the right. It is supposed to be. The scrolling speed is determined by the moving speed of the finger. The same applies when scrolling to the left.

  It should be noted that the above-described scroll processing procedure can be used as a cursor movement process by setting the operation to be performed when the center button 14 is OFF. The processing procedure at this time is shown by replacing “scroll” with “cursor movement” in FIGS. 15 and 16.

  The analog amount control method represented by the speed processing described above can also be applied to the movement speed of the cursor and other processing. Since the left contact and the right contact that operate exclusively are used, only the ON / OFF information obtained by sliding the finger on the data input device is taken in, so that a simple configuration is possible without using analog data by hardware. It is possible to control analog control signals such as speed.

Of course, instead of the above process of determining the right (left) scroll speed according to the time from when the left (right) contact changes from ON to OFF until the right (left) contact turns ON, the rotation angle of the rotating body The speed may be determined by the size of. Note that the scrolling process is not limited to the above-described procedure. For example, when the right contact is immediately pressed for right scrolling, if the contact state does not change after a predetermined time, the scrolling process is determined in advance. If a function is added if necessary, such as right scrolling at a predetermined speed, the convenience of the operator is improved.
The vertical scroll function can be realized by the same processing as described above using each data of the front contact, the rear contact, the forward movement amount, and the backward movement amount.

(Link function)
FIG. 13 shows a weather forecast screen as an example of content accessed via the Internet. The position of interest on the screen is indicated by an arrow (cursor) mark, and nine link items (information with links) around the arrow are displayed with a mark 41 suggesting finger movement. When this arrow-shaped cursor is moved, nine link items around the cursor position are automatically detected from the content, and a mark 41 suggesting finger movement is added to them. The mark 41 is provided with a white area in the black area, and suggests the movement of the fingertip by moving the white area relative to the black area.

Hereinafter, based on this screen example, the processing procedure of the link function will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not the center button 14 is ON (S801). If it is ON, then a predetermined number of link items (information on which links are set) within a certain range from the cursor position are extracted. (S802). The extraction range may be determined in advance according to the distance from the cursor, or the link item in the window indicated by the cursor may be the extraction target. The predetermined number corresponds to the number of mode IDs assigned.

Next, a mode ID by a rotating body is assigned to each of the extracted link items, this is stored as a temporary file (S803), and display output corresponding to each mode ID is performed (S804). FIG. 18 shows an example of the temporary file in which the mode ID is assigned to the link item (place name) around the cursor (pointer) in the screen example of FIG. In addition, the display of finger movement corresponding to the mode ID is displayed and output below the link item.
The mark that suggests the movement of the fingertips used here is an underline added to the bottom of the item (in this case, the place name). Part of the underline is white, and this white part indicates the fingertip landing position. Move from the position to the direction (left or right) suggesting the fingertip movement direction. When selecting one of the items, the operator sees the movement of the underlined white portion under the item, performs the finger movement corresponding to the movement, and operates the rotating body and the contact.

  Then, the states of the rotating body and the contacts are read (S805), and it is determined whether the mode can be determined by referring to the read state information with reference to the mode table of FIG. 19 (S806). The mode ID is saved (S807), and as the mode display, for example, processing such as inverting the color of the selected link item in FIG. 13 is performed (S808). In step S807, instead of saving the mode ID, a selection flag may be set in association with the mode selected for the temporary file in FIG.

  Thereafter, the states of the rotating body and the contacts are read again (S809), and if there is a mode change (S810), the processing from step S806 is repeated. On the other hand, if the mode has not been changed in step S810, it is next determined whether or not the center button 14 has been changed from ON to OFF (S811). If the mode has been changed, the link item corresponding to the mode ID is determined. Jump to the link destination (S812).

If it is determined in step S811 that the state of the center button 14 has not changed and a predetermined time has elapsed (S813), an error message is output and the process ends (S814). If the predetermined time has not elapsed in step S813, the process returns to step S809 to determine whether or not the mode has been changed.
The link function is realized by the above procedure.

(User interface method)
Although it is now possible to browse text, video, and audio recorded on various sites through the Internet, the current browsing tool (software called browser) uses a pointing device such as a mouse as an input device. The menu items and link items are selected through the pointing (coordinate specification) operation. However, the display area of the menu item and the link item on the screen is small, and the menu item and the link item cannot be selected unless the cursor position is accurately controlled to move to the range of the small area. In addition, it is necessary to watch the screen while moving the cursor, and it is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety that the gazing point continuously moves on the screen during driving or other work. Furthermore, the psychological load during positioning is large and the work efficiency is also reduced.
In order to prevent the viewpoint from becoming nailed to the screen and reduce the psychological burden, the current browser provides a shortcut function for selecting menu items and link items instantly. However, since the current shortcut function is a method in which a specific menu item is executed when a specific key is pressed, there is a problem that the relationship between the key and the menu item must be stored. It cannot be used for the purpose of selecting a link item embedded in content that cannot be associated with a key.

  In this embodiment, the above problem is solved and a mark (icon, background color of the item, underline, etc.) that can intuitively correspond to the finger movement is added to the menu item or the link item embedded in the content. Introducing a shortcut means to select menu items and link items by performing finger movement suggested by this mark, so that menu items and link items can be selected intuitively and easily. I made it.

  In general, there are an unspecified number of menu items and link items, which cannot be handled by a limited kind of finger movement. Therefore, by using a combination of the means for roughly specifying the point of interest in the menu and content and the shortcut means described above, and first specifying the position of interest roughly, the number of items of the finger movement from the vicinity of the position of interest Link items are automatically detected by the procedure of FIG. 17, and marks are automatically added to these items and link items for display. The point of interest need not be specified precisely, and may be roughly specified so that the target item or link item is included in the mark addition range. Subsequently, one of the items to which the mark is added and one of the link items may be selected by executing a finger movement suggested by the mark.

  The position of interest is specified by a cursor key, a scroll button, or a pointing device, but it can be specified at a high speed because it only needs to be roughly specified, and the time during which the screen is continuously watched is shortened. The focus position is set by a pointing device, or each time the cursor key is pressed, the link items embedded in the content are sent by the same number as the type of finger movement, and new link item groups are marked one after another. Good. Thus, when selecting a target item from a group of menu items or link items to which marks have been added, finger movements corresponding to the marks can be performed and selected instantaneously, so the selection is performed at a high speed, and the psychological burden during operation Since the viewpoint is not constrained by the screen, safety is maintained even if it is operated during operations such as driving a car.

  Various modifications of the user interface are possible using the procedure of FIG. For example, FIG. 20 shows an example in which the background color behind the item is changed to the surrounding color instead of the underline in FIG. 13 and used as the mark 41 suggesting finger movement. In this example, the rectangular area behind the item is displayed in a different color from the surrounding area. Using a rectangular area with two different colors (light blue and yellow), the light yellow rectangular area suggesting the fingertip is repeatedly moved in the animation (animation) within the light blue rectangular area suggesting the range of movement of the fingertip. To display. The yellow area periodically repeats an operation of moving in a direction corresponding to the movement direction of the fingertip, starting from a position corresponding to the landing point of the fingertip. The corresponding item can be selected by imitating the movement of the background color and moving the fingertip, so there is no need to memorize the correspondence between keys and items compared to the conventional shortcut method of selecting items by pressing keys. Easy to understand.

  FIG. 21 shows various design examples of the mark 41 that suggests finger movement. An example of the movement of the fingertip on the rotating body array is shown at (a) stage in the figure. In the figure of the input device shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from above, the point of arrival of the fingertip is indicated by a black circle. There are a total of three landing points on the rotating body indicated by the ellipses arranged on the left and right, or in the middle of both rotating bodies. The direction of movement of the fingertip after landing at each landing point is indicated by an arrow. The fingertip rises after moving to the left or right after landing, or rises without moving from the landing position. A figure consisting only of a black circle without an arrow suggests a movement of raising the fingertip as it is without moving left and right at the point indicated by the black circle. The figure with an arrow on the black circle means a movement that moves after moving the fingertip in the direction of the arrow after landing at the point of the black circle. The marks corresponding to the nine finger movements shown in (a) are shown in (b), (c), and (d). The mark (b) shows the same marks as those used in FIG. The background color behind the item is displayed differently from the surrounding background color and used as a mark. The color changing area is rectangular, and the outer stationary rectangular area suggests the entire range of fingertip movement. A small rectangular area that repeats the movement of moving left or right inside indicates a fingertip, the starting point of the moving operation of the small rectangular area indicates the fingertip landing point, and the direction of the moving operation indicates the fingertip moving direction after landing. The movement of the fingertip rising without moving after landing is suggested using a small rectangular area that flashes while still standing at the position corresponding to the landing point.

  The mark (c) shows the same marks as those used in FIG. An underline is added to the lower part of the item to change the color of one part of the underline and suggest the fingertip landing point by the starting point when moving the part, and the fingertip moving direction after landing by the moving direction. The movement of the fingertip that rises without moving from the landing point is suggested by blinking the part whose color has changed in the underline while still standing at the position corresponding to the landing point. (D) The example of the static mark which suggests the moving direction of a fingertip with a still image is shown in the (d) stage. The two open rectangles in each mark indicate two rotating bodies, and that the fingertips land on the left or right rotating body, a black ellipse is added to the white rectangle corresponding to the landing rotating body. And show. When the fingertip lands at the midpoint between the two rotating bodies, a black ellipse is drawn between the two white rectangles. The direction of fingertip movement after landing is indicated by an arrow starting from a black ellipse. The movement of the fingertip that rises as it is without moving after landing is shown by drawing only a black ellipse at the corresponding point.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a mechanism for notifying the user that the rotating body has been rotated by braking the rotating body and stopping the rotating body when it is rotated by an appropriate amount or by applying a repulsive force to the fingertip. In (a), the brake 30 is moved by an actuator such as a solenoid so as to come into contact with the rotating body, thereby stopping the rotating body. Since braking is performed electronically, it is possible to freely control braking through a program, electronically detect that the fingertip has moved an appropriate amount, and determine the timing of braking after taking various conditions into consideration.

  In (b), the protrusion 32 protruding from the rotating body collides with the rotating stationary rod 31 fixed to the rotating shaft of the rotating body, so that it stops when it rotates to a predetermined angle, and stops rotating further by the necessary amount. Notify you. When braking by such a simple method, it is necessary to use a mechanism in which the rotating body returns to the reference position when the finger is released.

  In (c), the plate springs are pushed up in contact with the plate springs 35 and 36 when the corners of the side surfaces of the prisms 33 and 34 that rotate integrally with the rotating body rotate by a predetermined angle. In the figure, the rotating body 1 is braked because the prism 33 is rotated to an angle that pushes up the leaf spring 35, and the rotating body 2 is not contacted with the leaf spring 36 at the rotation angle of the prism 34, and there is a gap. It is in a situation where it can rotate freely without being braked. The user feels the repulsive force received when the corner of the prism contacts the leaf spring and tries to push it up, and the user can grasp that the user has rotated the necessary amount. In this method, if the corners on the side of the prisms continue to rotate after contacting the leaf springs and the corners on the sides pass the leaf springs, the relative relationship between the prisms and the leaf springs is reset. There is no need to return to. If another leaf spring is added so that the contact timing varies depending on the rotation direction, and the contact between the leaf spring and the prism is detected electronically, the difference between the timing when the two leaf springs contact the prism is In addition, the rotation direction of the rotating body can be detected.

  FIG. 22 shows the correspondence between fingertip movements and input characters when the user interface of the present invention is used for text input. In this example, in order to input hiragana in Roman letters, the alphabet representing consonant shown in (b) and the alphabet representing vowel shown in (c) are assigned to each fingertip movement shown in (a). Enter hiragana by alternately entering consonants and vowels. Here, if the method and apparatus proposed in the present invention are used, only a consonant and a vowel corresponding to nine fingertip movements are memorized, and a sentence is created by inputting hiragana by touch type without looking at a hand or a menu. it can. Nine movements are simple movements that move the thumb from side to side. When it is desired to input the hiragana character string “ka”, the consonant tip and the vowel are usually input in the order of “KA”. However, according to the assignment method of FIG. 22, only five types of finger movements are used for inputting vowels, and the remaining four types of movements are free. Therefore, it is effective to assign other functions to these four types of free movements. In order to use it, it is preferable to input consonants after the vowels first.

  For example, to input “ka”, it is input as “AK”. This prevents, for example, the automatic switching to the consonant input function by inputting “A” after executing the “no subsequent consonant” function assigned to one of the four free movements. Can be entered. In addition, if a function of “Muddy sound” is assigned, a character input immediately before or after the execution of this function is switched to muddy sound. Furthermore, when converting the input hiragana into kanji or copying, using a rotary encoder that measures the amount of rotation of the rotating body, the range of phrase breaks, registration range, and copy range are determined according to the amount of rotation. good. In addition, when selecting one of multiple kanji candidates, registered terms, and sentence units, the candidates are associated with nine types of finger movements, and the candidates corresponding to the finger movements can be selected instantly to improve the sentence efficiency. Can be created well. At this time, if the candidate is displayed with a mark suggesting the fingertip movement, the target candidate can be selected instantaneously by executing the movement suggested by the mark.

According to the present embodiment, the data input device has a multi-stage configuration of two or more levels above and below, and the mode can be selected by a switch that directly touches a finger, and the mode selected together with the status information of the lower switch is transferred to the computer device or the control device. Since it was captured, a variety of data can be input quickly and accurately within a narrow range of finger movement.
In particular, when selecting multiple modes with a single finger, it is difficult to operate and errors are likely to occur, but the selection information is output on the computer or control device along with feedback from the finger touch to the user. Therefore, operability can be improved and operation errors can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the fingertip is always a rotating body by using means for detecting a position (pressure application position) where pressure is applied from the fingertip without using a switch that changes the contact state depending on the rotation angle of the rotating body. It is released from the restraint that touches, and data can be input at high speed by jumping in the air as needed. If only the fingertip moving direction immediately after the fingertip is lowered is used instead of the fingertip raised position (pressure release position), the input efficiency is further improved. The rotating body can be rotated indefinitely, and the rotating body can be used for the purpose of specifying coordinates with the same operability as a trackball. In return for these effects, there are erroneous input caused by finger touching a nearby rotating body, trembling of the fingertips, and reaction of other finger operations, which can provide a way to overcome these problems. did it.

  Furthermore, in addition to the conventional tactile cues, visual cues that display on the screen to suggest finger movement, beep sounds that change according to the fingertip position or beep sounds that occur when the area containing the fingertip changes, It is related to the finger movement displayed on the screen without memorizing the correspondence between the input information and the fingertip movement. Easy operation based on clues. In addition, the content browser (browsing method) introduces a means to instantly select items corresponding to finger movements without accurately determining the cursor position, improving the efficiency of item selection and reducing the psychological burden. did. In the text input method, a finger movement corresponding to a mark obtained by adding a target term to the term from registered terms can be selected instantaneously. In car navigation systems, menu items can be selected instantly without having to keep a close eye on the screen while driving.

(Modified example of cursor movement processing and scroll processing)
In the above processing, the cursor movement processing is performed when the center button 14 is OFF, and the scroll processing is performed according to the cursor position when the center button 14 is ON. However, this condition is changed as follows. It may be.
The cursor movement process is performed by turning on the left and right contact and pressing the center button. On the other hand, the scroll process is performed without pressing the center button, that is, when the center switch is OFF, at a speed determined by the time difference from when one contact “disengages” until the other contact “contacts”. Is to do.
If the mode selection method according to the present embodiment is used, screen scrolling may be performed more frequently than cursor movement, and in this case, this condition is more effective.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the data input device of the first embodiment is provided with means for turning on both the left contact 6 and the right contact 7 at the same time, taking in the ON signal, and selecting the mode. The operability and reliability of (item selection) are improved.

<Data input device>
For the data input device 51 described in the first embodiment, a conductive elastic body such as a spring 45 is provided from the base 9 to the arms 3 and 4 as shown in FIG. When the finger is not landed), the arms 3 and 4 are made to touch both the contacts 6 and 7. By applying pressure downward with a finger, the spring 45 is contracted and deformed.

  In the state of FIG. 23A, the current supplied from the conducting wire 17 is supplied to the arms 3 and 4 through the conductor 5 and the spring 45. And since it outputs to the conducting wires 19 and 18 respectively connected with the left contact 6 and the right contact 7, both the contacts 6 and 7 are detected to be in the ON state on the computer device 60 side that monitors this electrical signal.

  When the operator applies pressure to the right side as shown in FIG. 23B, when the pressure is applied, the arm 3 is separated from the left contact 6 and the arm 4 is in contact with the right contact 7, so that only the right contact 7 is applied. Turns on. Further, when a pressure is applied near the center as shown in FIG. 23C, the arms 3 and 4 are separated from both contact points, so that the contact points 6 and 7 are both detected to be OFF. Further, when pressure is applied to the left side as shown in FIG. 23 (d), the arm 4 moves away from the right contact 7, and the arm 3 contacts the left contact 6, so that only the left contact 6 is turned on.

When the operator shifts the application position from right to left while applying pressure downward, the contact state changes such that only the right contact is ON, both contacts are OFF, and only the left contact is ON. The same applies to the reverse direction. When the operator stops the pressurization and releases the pressure, both the contacts are turned on.
In FIG. 23, the spring 45 is provided in the central portion of the arms 3 and 4. However, in consideration of operability, for example, the left and right rotating bodies 1 and 2 are connected to the arm in the vicinity of two locations or more. You may make it provide separately in the above.

<Information equipment>
Next, the operation when the contact information of the data input device 51 having such a configuration is taken and the mode is selected will be described below. Since the functional configuration of the computer device 60 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, FIG. 8 will be used, and the processing of the first embodiment will be described using the link function related to FIG. 13 as an example. The explanation will focus on the differences.

<Data input processing>
The switch state input means 71 reads the data of the input unit 50 every time it is periodically or changed, and stores it in the state file 81. FIG. 24 is a data configuration example of the state file according to the present embodiment. In addition to the raw switch data such as buttons and contacts, a flag indicating the state of the switch is stored. For example, when the left contact 6 is ON and the right contact 7 is OFF, the left input flag is ON (or set), and when the contact state is other than that, it is OFF (or reset). Similarly, when the right contact 7 is ON and the left contact 7 is OFF, the right input flag is ON. The center input flag is ON when both contacts 6 and 7 are OFF, and the release flag is ON when both contacts 6 and 7 are ON. It is desirable to perform switch chattering during the flag processing.

  In this way, the processing of the individual functions (application programs) can be simplified by processing the setting and resetting of the input flag by the switch state input means 71, that is, a lower level program called a so-called driver program. The creation mistakes can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, since the mode is selected without using the rotation amount and movement amount information, FIG. 24 does not include the rotation amount and movement amount data. However, if necessary, these pieces of information are input. You may make it do.

<Individual function selection processing>
Next, the operation of the individual function selection unit 72 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the individual function selecting unit 72 is periodically activated, the individual function selecting unit 72 first refers to the state file 81 and acquires the cursor position information if the central button 14 is OFF (“Yes” in S901) (S902). Then, based on the individual function selection file shown in FIG. 12, the individual function ID associated with the window indicated by the cursor or the function being activated is extracted (S903). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the link function with the individual function ID A001 is extracted, and that function will be described as an example.

  Next, a predetermined number of pieces of information (mode additional information) assigned with modes in the vicinity of the cursor position are extracted (S904). This predetermined number is the maximum value that allows mode discrimination determined by the combination of switch settings of the mode table 83.

  FIG. 26 is a data configuration example of the mode table 83 according to the present embodiment. Depending on the operating condition of the center button 14, the mode is selected by a two-step procedure. Specifically, three types of mode IDs (M01 to M03) are assigned to correspond to the left, center, and right input flag states when the center button 14 changes from OFF to ON. Thereafter, three types of mode IDs (N01 to N03) are assigned corresponding to the left, center, and right input flag states when the center button 14 changes from ON to OFF.

  In this embodiment, when the center button changes from OFF to ON, the first mode selection is performed, and when the center button changes from ON to OFF, the second mode selection is performed. Thus, it is possible to select a more detailed hierarchical mode among the modes selected at the first time.

A mode ID is assigned to the mode additional information extracted in step S904 in order, and the information is stored in a temporary file (S905). FIG. 27 shows an example of this temporary file. In this example, since the mode additional information corresponds to the link item to which the link information is added, the link item is stored in association with the combination of the first and second mode IDs.
Note that Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and the like, which are given as specific examples, are Japanese place names indicating the regional divisions of the weather forecast, and merely indicate that they are link items.

  Then, the state of the input flag of the state file 81 is read (S906), and the mode additional information (link item) that can be selected by the first operation is first specified as the display output corresponding to each mode ID (S906). FIG. 28 is an example of a screen displayed based on the temporary file data of FIG. A mark 41 for instructing finger movement is displayed below the selectable link item. This mark is a white display in black, and the position of the white suggests finger movement. In the case of selecting nine types of items, in the first embodiment, nine types of items must be distinguished and displayed as shown in FIG. 13, but in this embodiment, as the first selection, left, center, The three types on the right are identified and displayed. The operator presses the contact at the desired position according to this mark. At this time, on the basis of the input flag read in step S906, the temporary file shown in FIG. 27 is referred to and the link item mark corresponding to the input flag is blinked or the color is changed. As a result, the operator can confirm whether or not the selection is correct, and can change the pressing position if necessary. Instead of the identification display, the selection contents may be transmitted to the operator by feedback information such as outputting a beep sound or vibrating the data input device 51 at a predetermined rhythm corresponding to the mode.

The operator confirms the item selected by the feedback information, and presses the center button 14 located below by pressing the button more strongly at the pressed position.
As the processing of the individual function selection means 72, it is determined whether or not the center button 14 is turned on (S908). If “No”, the cursor movement processing described in the first embodiment is executed ( S909), the process returns to step S902.

  On the other hand, if “Yes” in step S908, that is, if the center button 14 is turned on, the state of the input flag read in step S906 is latched, and it is determined whether the mode can be determined (S910). As a method of determining whether or not the mode can be determined, for example, referring to the mode table 83, the mode ID corresponding to the latched input flag exists, and the mode ID exists in the temporary file 84. There are ways to make it possible to determine the mode on the condition.

If mode determination is impossible (“No” in S910), an error message to that effect is output (S916).
On the other hand, if the mode can be determined (“Yes” in S910), the mode ID is stored (S911). As a method for storing the mode ID, for example, as shown in FIG. 29, the first selection flag is set at the position of the corresponding mode ID.

  Next, the input flag is read from the state file 81 (S912), and the display corresponding to the second selection mode is performed with reference to the mode table 83 (S913). FIG. 30 shows a display example instructing the second selection when the mode M02 is selected for the first time. A mark suggesting finger movement is displayed below the selectable items. At this time, the cursor or the mark 41 may be displayed differently from the first time to indicate the second selection.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the central button 14 has been turned off (S914). If “No”, if the time-out has not occurred (“No” in S915), the process returns to step S912 and time-out occurs. If this happens, an error message is output (S916), and the first mode information such as the selection flag information of the temporary file 84 is reset (S912).

  On the other hand, if “Yes” in step S914, that is, if the center button 14 is turned off, the state of the input flag read in step S912 is latched, and it is determined whether the mode can be determined (S917).

  If mode determination is impossible (“No” in S917), an error message to that effect is output (S916), and mode information such as a selection flag saved in the temporary file 84 is reset (S921).

  On the other hand, when the mode can be determined (“Yes” in S917), the mode ID is stored (S918), and the link item corresponding to the selected mode ID is identified and displayed. (S918). FIG. 31 shows an example of data in the temporary file 84 when the second selection flag is set at the position of the mode ID N01 for the second time and the link item “Shizuoka” is selected through the first and second times. Identification information indicating that Shizuoka has been selected is output on the screen.

  Thereafter, within a predetermined time (for example, about 0.5 seconds), it is determined whether or not the release flag is turned on (S919, S920). If the release flag is turned on, the mode of the temporary file 84 is reset and finished. (S912). On the other hand, if “No” in step S920, that is, if the release flag is not turned on within a predetermined time, the individual function executing means 74 is executed (S922). This jumps to the link destination of the selected link item.

  In the above processing, in steps S919 and S920, the state of the release flag after a predetermined time after the central button 14 is turned off or the change state of the release flag within the predetermined time is monitored. For example, even if the operator makes a wrong choice for the first time and has already pressed the center button 14, if the finger is released and the switch is immediately released, the previous mode setting is reset. It is possible to prevent an unintentional mode from being executed.

  By displaying the mode that is finally selected or the like, normally, since human beings try to confirm the content that they have selected, it is possible to distinguish the operation from when the switch is intentionally released. The predetermined time may be set in advance by the operator.

  The individual function executing means 74 is activated on condition that the release flag is turned ON and the time until the release flag is turned ON after the center button is changed from ON to OFF is shorter than a predetermined time. May be.

  Further, the mode ID allocation for the second selection may be reduced, and for example, the condition of the central input flag ON may not be used. In this way, the second central input flag ON condition can be used as a command for mode reset.

  According to the present embodiment, not only the state of both contacts can be determined exclusively with respect to the neutral point, but also whether or not the operation is in progress can be determined, so that many modes can be selected with a simple operation. This makes it possible to determine the operation more accurately.

  Further, since the mode is set in two steps, a complicated mode can be set with a few procedures. For example, in the first embodiment, since all the mode IDs are assigned to the mode additional information and are displayed at once, the display of finger movements for the modes becomes complicated. Since the upper mode is selected in the first display and the lower mode is selected in the next operation, the finger movement display is simplified and the operability is improved.

  In particular, since the switch state is captured before the mode selection is confirmed and what is selected is displayed to the operator, the operator can confirm the display and confirm the mode selection. Furthermore, if an incorrect mode is selected, it can be easily reset by removing the finger from the data input device, so that erroneous control due to an unintentional operation can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, usability is improved by assigning modes hierarchically. For example, in the first selection, a menu of today's weather forecast, tomorrow's weather, or local information is selected, and in the second selection, a region is selected.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the means and processes described in the above embodiments can be executed in appropriate combination. For example, the processing described in the second embodiment may be combined with the rotation amount and movement amount data of the first embodiment to perform operation control such as detailed mode setting and speed adjustment.
Further, the individual functions are not limited to the illustrated scroll function and link function, and the entire functions of the information device are the subject of the present invention.

  The data input device and the user interface method according to the present invention can be used not only for computer devices but also for all devices such as control devices and mobile phones that require users to input data.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement direction of the fingertip which operates the data input device by this invention. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the (a) side view and (b) front view by the Example of a data input device. It is explanatory drawing of a mode that the attitude | position of a rotary body arrangement | positioning means changes according to the landing position (pressurization position) of the fingertip by the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the contact condition of a switch changes. It is explanatory drawing of the rotary encoder for detecting the rotation amount of a rotary body. It is explanatory drawing of the means to implement | achieve the movement of the front-back direction of a finger tip, and the means to detect the moving amount of the front-back direction. It is explanatory drawing of the method of switching the contact of a switch by the movement of the front-back direction of a fingertip. It is a block diagram of the computer apparatus (information equipment) by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the braking method of a rotary body. It is a data block diagram of the state file of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the individual function selection means of FIG. It is a data block diagram of the individual function selection file of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the method when extracting a specific item from the link item embedded in the content by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the scroll function in the individual function execution means of FIG. 8 (center button process). It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the scroll function in the individual function execution means of FIG. 8 (left contact process). It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the scroll function in the individual function execution means of FIG. 8 (right contact process). It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the link function in the individual function execution means of FIG. It is a data block diagram of the primary file by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a data block diagram of the mode table by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the method when extracting a specific item from the link item embedded in the content by the other Example of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the mark which suggests fingertip movement by the other Example of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 21A shows nine kinds of movements of the fingertips on the rotating body array, and FIGS. 21B to 21D show mark design examples suggesting the movements of the fingertips shown in FIG. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the mark which suggests a fingertip movement when combining the consonant and the vowel according to another example of the first embodiment of the present invention and inputting hiragana in the Roman alphabet method. It is a partial block diagram of the data input device by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a data block diagram of the state file by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the individual function selection means by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a data block diagram of the mode table by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a data block diagram of the primary file by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the mode display by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (Screen diagram before selecting the first mode) It is a data block diagram of the primary file by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (Explanation of first mode selection) It is explanatory drawing of the mode display by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (Screen diagram before selecting the second mode) It is a data block diagram of the primary file by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (Explanatory diagram when selecting the second mode)

Explanation of symbols

1 Right rotating body 2 Left rotating body 3, 4 Loop wire (arm)
5 Conductor 6 Left Contact 7 Right Contact 8, 9 Unit 10, 11 Hinge 12 Rotating Shaft 13 Insulating Film 14 Center Button 15, 16, 30 Supporting Point 17, 18, 19 Conductor 20 Rotary Encoder 21 Wheel 22 Optical Detector 26 Contact 28 Rear contact 29 Front contact 30 Brake 31 Rotating and stationary rod 32 Protrusion 33, 34 Square column 35, 36 Leaf spring 41 Mark 45 Spring 50 Input unit 51 Data input device 52, 61 Interface unit 60 Computer device 62 Processing unit 63 Storage unit 64 Display memory 65 Display unit 66 Computer device body 71 Switch state input means 72 Individual function selection means 73 Scroll execution means 74 Individual function execution means 75 Scroll function 76 Link function 81 Status file 82 Individual function selection file 83 Mode table 84 When the file 90 interface cable

Claims (18)

Rotating body arrangement means having a plurality of rotating bodies that are arranged within the fingertip movement range and rotate by the fingertip;
It is provided between the upper base that supports the rotating body arranging means and the lower base that is located below the upper base, and the pressure applied by the downward movement of the fingertip is applied to the rotating body arranging means to detect the pressure application position. Pressure application position detecting means for
Pressure release position detecting means for detecting a pressure release position at which the pressure applied from the fingertip on the rotating body arranging means is released;
Fingertip movement direction detection means for detecting the movement direction of the fingertip that moves when the pressure is applied by a fingertip that operates the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means;
Information to be input can be specified by combining output signals from at least one of the pressure application position detection means and the pressure release position detection means, and the fingertip movement direction detection means. Data input device.   A position detecting switch for detecting a position by changing a contact state in accordance with a position where pressure is applied by a weak fingertip applied to the rotating body, and the pressure application position detecting means is configured to contact the position detecting switch. Provided with a pressure detection switch that changes the contact state when a relatively stronger pressure than the pressure that changes the state is applied from the fingertip, depending on the contact state by the pressure detection switch and the position of the weak pressure applied from the fingertip The data input device according to claim 1, wherein the fixed contact state by the position detection switch is distinguished and detected.   The position detection switch is formed by a seesaw mechanism capable of seesaw movement on the upper table, and includes a conductive arm member that rotatably supports the rotating body, and the fingertip is applied by weak pressure applied from the fingertip. When the rotating body in the position is lowered relative to the other rotating bodies to change the contact state of the position detection switch, the arm that supports the rotating body on the descending side is 3. The data input device according to claim 2, wherein the other rotating body is lifted through the arm on the other side by landing on the arm and performing a seesaw motion.   Among the movements of the fingertips that are provided on the lower base and that specify the pressure application position, the movement of the fingertip that changes the pressure application position in the horizontal or front-rear direction is allowed to move, and the pressure is applied downward. 4. The data input device according to claim 3, further comprising finger support means for supporting the descent movement so as not to move in the descent direction of the fingertip.   The finger support means is formed by a finger support rotator that rotates in the direction of the moving motion but does not move in the direction of the descent motion, and a part of the fingertip is moved by the finger support rotator. The data input device according to claim 4, wherein the data input device is supported.   An information device comprising means for specifying information to be input by combining the landing position or pressure position of the fingertip and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing, and the background of the item displayed on the display screen Suggestion to the symbol or animation by displaying a mark such as a color, underline, icon, etc. statically or dynamically with a symbol or animation that suggests the fingertip landing position or pressure position and the fingertip movement direction An information device comprising means for selecting the item corresponding to the finger movement to be performed. The information device according to claim 6, further comprising content browsing means for browsing content such as video, music, and text through an Internet communication network and a storage device,
The content browsing means includes selection candidate detection means for detecting a plurality of selection candidate items existing in the vicinity of the target position in the content,
The information device, wherein the mark as a selection candidate item detected by the selection candidate detection unit is statically or dynamically displayed on the display so as to suggest finger movement. Rotating body arrangement means having a plurality of rotating bodies that are arranged within the fingertip movement range and rotate by the fingertip;
Pressure application position detection means for detecting a position where a pressure accompanying a downward movement of the fingertip is applied on the rotating body arrangement means;
Pressure release position detecting means for detecting a position at which the pressure applied from the fingertip is released on the rotating body arranging means;
Fingertip movement direction detection means for detecting the movement direction of the fingertip that moves when the pressure is applied by a fingertip that operates the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means;
The information device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the fingertip landing position or the pressurizing position is detected by the pressure application position detection, and the fingertip movement direction is detected by the fingertip movement direction detection means. Rotating body arrangement means having a plurality of rotating bodies that are arranged within the fingertip movement range and rotate by the fingertip;
Pressure application position detection means for detecting a position where a pressure accompanying a downward movement of the fingertip is applied on the rotating body arrangement means;
Pressure release position detecting means for detecting a position at which the pressure applied from the fingertip is released on the rotating body arranging means;
Fingertip movement direction detection means for detecting the movement direction of the fingertip that moves when the pressure is applied by a fingertip that operates the rotating body of the rotating body arranging means;
An attempt is made to input a combination of the output signal of the fingertip landing position or the pressure position detected by the pressure application position detection means and the output signal of the fingertip movement direction detected by the fingertip movement direction detection means. Information to be specified,
An information device comprising a braking means for braking the rotational motion of the rotating body in accordance with a fingertip position or a rotation angle of the rotating body. A mode table for storing the switch state and the mode identification information in association with each other;
Correspondence information that associates one or more selection candidate items with mode identification information is created and temporarily stored, and switch operation information for selecting the selection candidate items is output, and then switch state data is input. Then, the mode identification information corresponding to the switch state is extracted with reference to the mode table, the selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is extracted based on the correspondence information, and the selection candidate item is selected. Individual function selection means for performing an output to notify that
An information device comprising: individual function execution means for executing processing related to the selection candidate item selected by the individual function selection means.   A user interface method for specifying information to be input by combining the position of the fingertip landing position or pressure position and the movement direction of the fingertip during landing or before and after landing, and the background color of the item displayed on the display screen A mark such as an underline or an icon is displayed statically or dynamically in a pattern or animation that suggests the fingertip landing position or pressure position and the direction of movement of the fingertip, and the finger suggested in the pattern or animation A user interface method characterized in that the corresponding item is selected when exercise is executed.   12. The user interface method according to claim 11, wherein the fingertip position is audibly notified by changing a sound output according to the fingertip position.   A user interface method using means for designating information to be input by combining the landing position of a fingertip and the movement direction of the fingertip at the time of landing or before and after landing, and the content of the fingertip movement direction and video, music, text, etc. A display / reproduction range moving direction is displayed on the display in association with each other. 12. The user interface method according to claim 11, wherein content browsing means for browsing content such as video, music, and text through an Internet communication network or a storage device, and a plurality of the content browsing means that exist in the vicinity of a target position in the content. Using selection candidate detection means for detecting selection candidate items of
A user interface method, wherein the mark as a selection candidate item detected by the selection candidate detection means is displayed on the display statically or dynamically so as to suggest finger movement. The user interface method according to claim 11 comprises:
Using sentence registration means to register sentence units that appear frequently,
The user interface method according to claim 1, wherein the mark in the sentence unit registered in the sentence registration means is displayed on the display statically or dynamically so as to suggest finger movement. An execution switch capable of discriminating at least two states of a non-pressurized state and a pressurized state, and provided on a table that is located above the execution switch and is capable of applying pressure to change the state of the execution switch; Each of the switches of the data input device having a mode selection switch in which the release state and the use state can be discriminated and at least three kinds of position states of the left and right and the center can be input when the use state is used, and the left and right are switched by a seesaw mechanism A user interface method for inputting a state to an information device and selecting an item for operating the information device according to the switch state,
For each non-pressurized state and pressurized state of the execution switch, each position state of the mode selection switch and mode identification information for selecting items of the information device are stored in association with each other,
Each of the plurality of selection candidate items is uniquely assigned mode identification information composed of non-pressurized mode identification information and pressurized mode identification information,
First, output the finger operation information related to the mode identification information in the non-pressurized state, input the state of the mode selection switch from the data input device,
Thereafter, when the execution switch changes to the pressurized state, the mode identification information in the non-pressurized state is determined from the state of the input mode selection switch, and one or more selection candidate items corresponding to the mode identification information To extract the finger operation information of the mode identification information at the time of pressurization for the extracted selection candidate item, and input the state of the mode selection switch from the data input device,
Next, when the execution switch changes to the non-pressurized state, the mode identification information in the pressurized state is determined from the state of the input mode selection switch, and the selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is finally Outputs information indicating that it is selected,
Thereafter, when there is no release input within a predetermined time, a process related to the finally selected selection candidate item is executed.
A user interface method characterized by the above.   The timer is started when the central position state is reached from the left or right position state of the mode selection switch, and the timer value is stopped when the other position state is reached. The user interface method according to claim 16, wherein the user interface method is used as an operation parameter of an information device. An execution switch capable of discriminating at least two states of a non-pressurized state and a pressurized state, and provided on a table that is located above the execution switch and is capable of applying pressure to change the state of the execution switch; Each of the switches of the data input device having a mode selection switch in which the release state and the use state can be discriminated and at least three kinds of position states of the left and right and the center can be input when the use state is used, and the left and right are switched by a seesaw mechanism A program for inputting a state to an information device and controlling the operation of the information device according to the switch state,
A process of storing each position state of the mode selection switch in association with mode identification information for selecting an item of the information device for each non-pressurized state and pressurized state of the execution switch;
A process of uniquely assigning mode identification information composed of non-pressurized mode identification information and pressurized mode identification information to each of the plurality of selection candidate items;
Processing for outputting finger operation information related to mode identification information in a non-pressurized state, and inputting a state of the mode selection switch from the data input device;
When the execution switch changes to the pressurized state, the mode identification information in the non-pressurized state is determined from the input mode selection switch state, and one or more selection candidate items corresponding to the mode identification information are extracted. Then, processing for outputting finger operation information of mode identification information at the time of pressurization for the extracted selection candidate item, and inputting a state of the mode selection switch from the data input device;
When the execution switch changes to the non-pressurized state, the mode identification information in the pressurized state is determined from the state of the input mode selection switch, and the selection candidate item corresponding to the mode identification information is finally selected. A computer-executable program, including: a process for outputting information indicating that there is no release input within a predetermined time, and a process for executing a process related to the finally selected selection candidate item.

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