WO2002077786A1 - Information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

A sequence of motions (fingertip stroke motions) of lowering a fingertip, linearly moving it a short distance and lifting it are used as a unit of motions corresponding to a character or instruction to be input, a fingertip lowering position and lifting position are combined to designate a character or an instruction to be input. Display data changed in conjunction with fingertip stroke motions can assist beginners. A tactile stimulus applied to a fingertip is changed when a fingertip-positioned region is changed to recognize which region the fingertip is positioned in, thereby enabling blind inputting. In addition, a plurality of main sections or sub-sections are displayed on a screen so as to ensure positional relations geometrically similar to a plurality of regions set in a fingertip moving area. A section for inputting at a main section is designated based on a fingertip lowering region, and a section for inputting at a sub-section is designated based on a fingertip lifting region.

Description

 Description Information input device Technical field

 The present invention relates to a data input device provided with an interface for efficiently inputting character data, command data, and other information to information equipment. Background art

 The keypad, which is one of the conventional representative data input devices, is an efficient data input device for trained users, but requires a small work area because tying requires a wide working range. Not suitable for data entry into equipment. A projection is provided on the surface of the J or F key of the keyport, and the skilled worker can grasp the finger position using this projection as a clue, and can work while pointing his or her gaze on the screen by blinding. A considerable amount of training is required for beginners to master blind typing.

 On the other hand, when browsing the Internet, it is possible to use a pointing device such as a mouse to select a menu item {button} icon or a link destination using a pointing device such as a mouse as an interface that is easy for beginners to understand. Graphical interfaces for inputting commands to computers have become mainstream. In the graphical interface, data is usually input by pointing at one point. ¾ Data is specified by moving the cursor while holding down the mouse button. In operations called dragging and some menu operations, the position at which the mouse button is pressed is The input data is determined based on the combination of the separated positions.

In the above-mentioned durable interface, the work is performed while confirming the position of the mouse force by relying on the visual sense. However, in order to reduce the burden on the visual sense, a method using tactile stimulation has been devised. ing. For example, a Braille display has been developed for the visually impaired. The Braille display is applied to an in-face, and when the cursor reaches a target area on the screen, the Braille display applies a stimulus to the finger. A method has been devised that notifies the operator of the cursor position and the area shape by changing the form of the cursor.

 Similarly, a vibrator is incorporated in the mouse as a method of notifying the cursor position,

'There is also a method to vibrate the vibrator when the cursor reaches the target position. In addition, IBM has developed a system in which the stick used for pointing is actively driven by a command from a computer, and the user is notified of the information through the movement.

 As an even simpler method, an operation panel is provided in which a projection is provided on a surface-treated panel so that the fingertip can be slippery so that the user can grasp the position of the button indicated by the projection while sliding the fingertip on the panel. A plurality of poles and ball-shaped protrusions are provided in the part, and the fingertip is pole or pole-shaped due to the rotation of the ball itself and the flexibility and low friction between the ball-shaped protrusion and the finger. A method was also devised in which the unevenness of the ball or ball-shaped projection was grasped while moving smoothly on the projection, and the menu items arranged on the screen were selected based on the tactile information of the unevenness as a clue so as to correspond to the unevenness position. Have been.

 However, in the conventional graphical interface, since the mouse cursor is moved over a wide area in a large screen and the small area of the mouse is pointed to select or drag items, careful visual attention is required during the work. Therefore, it was difficult to repeat the operation many times in a short time. For example, in Microsoft's windows, many items in the menu are often arranged one-dimensionally, and the force cursor reaches the target item from the initial position through many items on the way. This cursor movement takes time, and if you forcibly operate it in a short time, it is easy for erroneous operations such as pressing the mouse button after passing the target item.

Menu items are selected based on the combination of the position where the mouse button is pressed and the position where the mouse button is released. In the case of selection, in the conventional method, it is not possible to move between the items in a short time, and it is not easy to identify the items. I couldn't do that. The movement of pressing the mouse button at the first target position, moving the mouse, and releasing the mouse button at the next target position is interrupted every time attention is paid to adjust the force sol to the target position. Could not be executed at once. Thus, the conventional graphical interface is intuitive and easy for beginners to understand, but has the disadvantages of lower input efficiency, higher visual load, and erroneous operation than the traditional keyboard input.

 Even if the above-mentioned tactile information was used, the input efficiency was not improved by the conventional incorporation method. For example, in an in-face display using a braille display, it took a long time to search for a target area within a wide search range based on tactile information, and the data input efficiency was extremely low. Also, since it was difficult to identify various reports using only tactile information as a clue, the number of types of information that could be input was limited. Furthermore, unlike the case of the “key boat”, it was also a problem that the load of attention was not reduced and the work efficiency did not improve even if the students mastered it. Disclosure of the invention

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional decoder input device and the graphical interface method, to provide sufficient diversity within a range in which a finger can move. Stroke movement of the fingertip (moving the fingertip down, then moving in a direction almost perpendicular to the above-mentioned descending direction) (Movement to raise in the direction) is used for data input, and information can be input by a simple operation of specifying and outputting predetermined information according to the combination of the descending position and the rising position of the finger in the above-mentioned stroke movement. It was made. At this time, a graphical interface that changes the display content in conjunction with the movement of the finger is introduced, and even beginners can identify and screen. By making it possible to grasp the finger position using simple tactile stimuli as clues, the visual load in data input work was reduced, and beginners could easily learn blind input and input various information at high speed. Things.

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:

 A vertical movement detecting means for detecting the vertical movement of the fingertip; and a fingertip provided in a plurality of areas set in a movable area in which the fingertip can move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical movement, and moving in the movable area. Moving area detecting means for detecting an area corresponding to the position of the finger; a descending area corresponding to the position where the fingertip is detected by the vertical movement detecting means and the moving area detecting means; An information output means for outputting predetermined information based on a combination with a corresponding ascending area; an area corresponding to a position at which the fingertip moves, or an area notifying an operator of a change in the position of the fingertip moving on the area. And a notifying means.

 According to this information input device, it is possible to input complicated information by a simple stroke motion of the fingertip, and to grasp the finger position based on the change of the simple finger position that is easy for beginners to identify. By doing so, the visual burden of inputting data and other information has been reduced, and beginners can easily learn blind input and input various types of information at high speed.

 If the area notification means informs the operator of a change in the position of the fingertip moving in the area or the area by the tactile stimulus applied to the finger, the position of the fingertip is clearly determined by tactile stimulation of the fingertip. Because it is possible to know, it is possible to provide a report input device that is easy to use even for beginners or unhealthy people.

Further, the information output means defines a plurality of main sections displayed in a geometrically similar relationship with a plurality of areas set in the movement area in accordance with the movement of the fingertip. On the other hand, if it displays multiple sub-sections set in the main section while maintaining the geometric similarity with the arrangement of the plurality of sections set in the movement area on the screen, The operator only has to move his fingertips sensuously based on the similarity of the sections, and the layout of the areas is easy to understand. Evening will be possible.

 Furthermore, the relationship between the main section and the sub-section is repeated so that the hierarchy of information is sequentially traced from the upper concept to the lower concept, and the information corresponding to the end section of the hierarchy is character information or command information. Then, the selection of complex concepts over multiple layers can be achieved by the simple stroke movements described above, which simplifies character input and command input to a computer. Further, the section corresponding to the descending area is information corresponding to the consonant type, the section corresponding to the ascending area is information relating to the vowel type, and the information output means is selected by a combination of these pieces of information. If it is configured to output characters or sounds, the characters and sounds can be specified and output by extremely simple operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure in which a stroke movement of a fingertip is identified in an information input device according to an embodiment of the present invention and different tactile stimuli are given according to a fingertip position. FIG. Fig. 3 shows how the seesaw arm falls down according to the fingertip position and the spherical protrusion stimulates the finger. Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of the finger position identification switch and the ON / OFF of the fingertip position in the above information input device. Fig. 4 shows another example of the moving area detecting means. Fig. 5 shows another example of the moving area detecting means. Fig. 6 shows the present invention in a portable terminal which also serves as a mobile phone. Fig. 7 shows an example of the applied embodiment. Fig. 7 shows an example of the collective menu method displayed on the screen of the portable terminal and a method of selecting one of the menu items by the stroke motion of the fingertip with the information input device of the present invention. Fig. 8 shows one Fig. 9 shows a method of constructing a sequential menu-type main menu by replacing items in the section menu-type sections with icons. Fig. 9 shows an example of the sequential menu-type display on the screen of a mobile terminal and the data of the present invention. Diagram showing how to select one of the menu items with the stroke of the fingertip using the input device. Figure 10 shows an example of the menu configuration of the batch menu system in pointing mode. Figure 11 shows the hiragana input mode. Fig. 12 shows an example of the menu configuration of the batch menu method in Fig. 12, Fig. 12 shows an example of the menu structure of the batch menu method in the alphabet input mode, and Fig. 13 shows an example of the menu structure in the kana-kanji conversion mode! , Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an array of link destination candidates on a web page and an example of a link destination selection operation by a fingertip stroke motion, and Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a moving area detecting means. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, the device 'is mainly operated with the thumb of the hand, and the fingertip of the thumb of the hand is simply called the fingertip. Of course, the fingertip in the present invention is not limited to the thumb. The movement of moving the fingertip in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the finger pad is called the vertical movement of the fingertip. In vertical movement, the fingertip is lowered when the fingertip is moved to the ventral side of the finger, and the fingertip is raised when moved to the back of the finger. It is also said that the fingertip moves when the fingertip is moved in a direction parallel to the surface of the finger pad.

The task of drawing a short line segment on paper with inked fingertips is to lower the fingertip on the paper, move the fingertip straight into the paper while keeping it in contact with the paper, and finally raise the fingertip. This is accomplished by In this way, the user moves the fingertip straight down, moves linearly for a short distance, and moves up smoothly without interruption, and can be performed as an integral action in a short time. In the present invention, the action of lowering the fingertip and moving it up linearly for a short distance (hereinafter, this series of movements is referred to as the stroke motion of the fingertip) is treated as one unit of motion in the data input operation. Determines the type of character or command to be input based on the combination of the fingertip lowering position and the fingertip raising position in association with the character or instruction to be input Provide a data entry device. In the stroke movement, the fingertip can move in any direction. Therefore, two points that approach each other in the two-dimensional plane can be arbitrarily selected as a point where the fingertip is lowered and a point where the fingertip is raised within a range of a recognizable resolution.

 The present invention further introduces a mechanism in which the tactile stimulus is changed depending on the fingertip position and added to the finger in order to confirm the fingertip position as necessary, so that the fingertip position can be identified by tactile sensation without visual recognition. ， Improve efficiency and reliability of input work. The device user grasps the position of lowering the fingertip based on the tactile information, lowers the fingertip at the first target position, moves the fingertip to the second target position while keeping the finger down, and relies on the tactile information. Detects the position where the fingertip is raised, and raises the fingertip to specify the character or command to be input. The type of characters or commands to be input to the device is determined by a combination of the first target position and the second target position.

 A platform or seat that moves with the movement of the fingertip, or a ball or roll that rotates in contact with the fingertip, so that the fingertip can move quickly and smoothly from the first destination position to the second destination position while obtaining tactile information. It is desirable to use Alternatively, a panel or sheet whose surface has been processed so that the fingertip can be easily slipped may be introduced, and then the fingertip may be slid and moved.

 In addition, it is necessary to make it possible to move the fingertip linearly and shortly from the first target position to the second target position so that it can be reached, and to be able to grasp both target positions by tactile sensation instead of visually. Is the key to

In the conventional pointing device, the relative movement amount of the cursor on the screen is determined visually or according to the movement amount of the finger or hand or the pressure applied from the finger or hand. No problem. In the present invention, a plurality of areas are set in the moving area of the fingertip, and the area including the absolute position of the fingertip is identified. Since the absolute position of the fingertip is included in a small number of areas can be identified by a small number of switches that are provided at appropriate positions on the device and that turn on and off according to the fingertip position. The cost of the device can be reduced as compared with a conventional pointing device.

 Although the term area is used here for convenience of explanation, the substance is not always explicitly defined. For example, if the switch arrangement is determined, the fingertip positions that make the switch ON and 0FF the same way are interpreted as belonging to the same area, and the fingertip positions that change the switch ON and 0FF way belong to different areas. Can be interpreted as ό

 In this case, the area is implicitly determined according to the position of the switch, and there is no need to explicitly define the area and shape of the area. When the ON or OFF manner of the switch changes, the tactile stimulus applied to the finger may be changed to notify that the implicit area where the finger is located has changed.

 In the above method, the area to be provided in the fingertip movement area is reduced, and two-dimensional arrangement is made so that adjacent areas occur as much as possible. Then, the fingertip is positioned when the fingertip is lowered. The type of character or command to be entered should be determined based on the combination of the area (downward area) and the area where the fingertip is located when the fingertip is raised (upward area).

 Since the fingertip can reach the adjacent area directly in a short time without passing through another area, the adjacency between many areas greatly improves the efficiency of data input. If it is necessary to pass through another area on the way to the destination area, it becomes difficult to identify the area, and it is impossible to grasp the fingertip position only from the tactile information. If a small number of them are close to each other, the target area can be easily identified. Therefore, the key to improving the efficiency of data input is to use a small number of areas and to arrange the areas two-dimensionally so that each area is adjacent to as many other areas as possible.

When the above area is two-dimensionally arranged, a central area is provided, and a plurality of peripheral areas are arranged around the central area, so that any peripheral area can be directly reached from the central area. Therefore, the central area is set as the standard area (home position) for fingertips, and If the fingertip is placed in the center area, the position for lowering the fingertip (descending area) can be reached directly from the standard position in any area, so that the efficiency of data input is further improved. As for the ascending area, if only the area adjacent to the descending area is used, the number of types of data that can be expressed decreases, but the input efficiency improves. Since a small number of areas are individually associated with characters and commands, the number of areas is not sufficient to represent the type of characters and extra fingers, but when the fingertip is lowered, the lowering area where the fingertip is located and when the fingertip is raised If the combination of the ascending zones where the fingertips are located is associated with characters and commands, the types of characters and commands that can be expressed will be the square of the number of zones, which is much more.

 For example, if a total of 9 areas arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns are used, 81 types can be represented, and the number can sufficiently cover alphabets and hiragana types. In addition, such a variety of information can be designated by a movement of one fingertip within a narrow range. Conventionally, in a graphical interface such as Microsoft Windows, menu items are arranged one-dimensionally vertically or horizontally, and the target item is selected with the mouse. However, when the number of items increases, it takes some time to reach the target item. Many unrelated items must be freed, time consuming to reach, visual attention must be paid to correctly select the target item, and mistakes can be made when clicking on small target areas. The choice was easy to happen. As long as this approach was taken, the efficiency of item selection was far lower than the efficiency of typing keys.

 However, as described above, the information input device of the present invention facilitates identification and movement between areas by arranging a small number of areas in a two-dimensional manner so as to be as close as possible. The problem of insufficient number of characters and commands was solved by associating the area where the fingertip was located at each point of the fingertip with the letters and commands, and introducing tactile stimuli as needed. By overcoming the problems of the conventional physical face-in-one face method, the movement of the fingertip can be grasped without the need for visual attention.

In the following embodiment, the display content of the screen is further changed in conjunction with the fingertip movement described above. A graphical interface that allows users to grasp their operations while looking at the screen. Display menu items, buttons, icons, and selection items such as link items on the screen so as to have a two-dimensional positional relationship geometrically similar to the two-dimensional positional relationship of the area provided in the fingertip movement area. Is placed in the selected area, a relationship is established between the area and the selected item based on the geometric similarity, and the selected item at the position corresponding to the area where the fingertip is located is displayed separately from other selected items. In the following, displaying a specific item separately from others in this manner is referred to as item highlighting or highlighting.

 For example, the item at the position corresponding to the fingertip position in the menu is displayed differently from the other seven items by changing the brightness or color or enclosing it in a frame. In addition, the item displayed at the position corresponding to the fingertip position and distinguished from the other items (highlighted) is referred to as “the item indicated by the fingertip position”. The menu is organized hierarchically, and items (hereafter referred to as upper items) are selected from the first menu in the hierarchy (hereinafter referred to as the main menu) based on the area where the fingertip is lowered. Next, in the lower-level menu associated with the higher-level item selected in the main menu (hereinafter referred to as the sub-menu), the items in the sub-menu (hereinafter referred to as the lower-level items) based on the point at which the fingertip is raised. Select By layering in this way, it is possible to specify various types of information equivalent to the square of the number of items through item selection that spans at least two layers, with the number of items that can be selected at each layer being at least two. The work of selecting items across these two layers can be executed collectively in a short time by the stroke motion of the fingertip. This hierarchical structure is not limited to the two-layer structure described above, and may be a three- or more-layer structure in which the relationship between the main menu and the submenu is repeated.

 According to the collective menu method described later, submenus are nested in the main menu while the menus are arranged in a hierarchical structure, and all submenus are displayed collectively.

If the number of menu items is small and two-dimensionally arranged, a small screen of a mobile device It is also convenient that the menu can be easily stored. In addition, menus pop up only when necessary, so that the screen can be used to display the maximum contents without displaying menus in normal times. However, the menu display method may be changed according to the level of proficiency, and a part of the screen may be reserved as a menu-dedicated display area to assist the operation and the menu is always displayed there before the user is unfamiliar.

 If necessary, a mechanism to apply tactile stimulus to the finger is introduced, and the menu item specified by the movement of the fingertip changes. When the haptic stimulus applied to the finger changes at this time, the item specified by the fingertip through the tactile stimulus changes Can be checked, making it difficult to make mistakes in item selection. In addition, the efficiency of information input work can be improved because the work can be continued while grasping the fingertip position by tactile stimulation without having to look at the menu. In particular, when inputting information at high speed by performing a stroke motion instantaneously, it is impossible to visually follow changes in the menu display on the screen, so tactile cues are indispensable. If you are sufficiently familiar with the operation and can memorize the correspondence between the tactile stimulus applied to the finger and the input characters and commands, you can input data by relying on the tactile stimulus alone without displaying a menu. As described above, the contents of the necessary menus change according to the user's proficiency, and a mechanism for changing the menu display method according to the proficiency is effective.

 Normally, it is difficult to perform the vertical movement and movement of the fingertip without interference.

 That is, while the fingertip is moving up and down, the fingertip may move unintentionally and an erroneous input may occur. However, if a tactile stimulus is introduced and the tactile stimulus is kept constant as long as the fingertip position is included in the same area, and the tactile stimulus always changes when the fingertip position shifts to a different area, the You can confirm unexpected movement. The user can prevent accidental movement of the fingertip during up-and-down motion by injecting the tactile stimulus during the up-and-down motion of the fingertip so that it is kept constant. The fingertip is kept in contact with the device for a long time due to the tactile stimulation.

Once the fingertip is removed from the device, the gaze must be pointed at the fingertip to ensure that the fingertip is in the specified position when repositioning. Work by moving this line of sight It is desirable that the fingertip is always in contact with the device in order to prevent the interruption of data and the efficiency of inputting data overnight. However, if the fingertips are in close contact with the device and breathability is poor, the skin on the fingertips becomes sweaty and uncomfortable, which also has an adverse effect on the device. Therefore, it is effective to use a porous material or cloth for the adhesive part in order to ensure air permeability.

 The color and shape of the force sol on the screen can be changed based on the detection result of the fingertip position and the vertical movement of the fingertip so that the fingertip position and the vertical movement of the fingertip can be visually confirmed. Of course, an auditory stimulus may be used. In this way, the movement of the fingertip can be grasped with the gaze pointed at the cursor position without using tactile stimulation. Alternatively, if the information for specifying the fingertip position is insufficient with only tactile stimulation, the fingertip position can be specified by displaying visual or auditory cues on the screen to compensate for this lack. But 'good. However, high-speed data input is not possible if the fingertip position is confirmed one by one using visual or auditory cues. It is advantageous to introduce tactile cues for grasping the fingertip position while continuously performing the stroke motion without interruption.

 When inputting Hiragana, write Hiragana as a combination of consonants and vowels in Roman characters, determine the type of consonant based on the descending area when the fingertip is lowered, and change the vowel type to the ascending area when the fingertip is raised. If it is determined based on the vowels, the arrangement of vowels is determined in common regardless of consonants, so that input rules can be easily stored. In English, consonants may be continuous and vowels may be diphthongs. However, there is a high probability that a vowel follows a consonant. Therefore, the efficiency of English input can be improved by making it possible to input syllables, which are pairs of consonants and vowels, and more generally, phonological pairs, with a single stroke of the fingertip.

 Generally, it is effective to input two characters, commands or classifications that have a high probability of continuing in one stroke motion by associating them with an area where the fingertip is lowered and an area where the fingertip is raised.

Alphabet II symbols, visual or audible or functional for commands Grouping is performed based on the similarity, and a group is selected based on the area where the fingertip is located when the fingertip is lowered. After moving with the fingertip lowered, the group is selected based on the area where the fingertip is located when the fingertip is raised. You may choose to select one of the alphanumeric symbols and commands within.

 Internet link destinations are often embedded in the displayed image and are often indicated by underlining or different colors, but they should have a geometric relationship similar to that of the area located in the fingertip movement range. The link destination corresponding to the area where the fingertip is located is highlighted by displaying the link destination on the screen, so that the user can select the link destination by moving the fingertip up and down. Become. A function to shift to the pointing mode is assigned to one of the areas (for example, the center area) to be introduced into the fingertip movement range, so that when the fingertip is moved to this area and the fingertip is lowered, the mode shifts to the pointing mode. The device can also be configured. After shifting to the pointing mode, if the fingertip is moved with the finger held down, a sensor that measures the movement and position of the fingertip in detail operates, and the cursor is moved on the display screen in conjunction with the movement of the fingertip to move to an arbitrary point. Be able to point.

 In addition, a key to be pressed with the index finger (index finger shift key) and a key to be pressed with the middle finger (middle finger shift key) are installed. Try to fulfill the function. If a pointing device separate from the keyboard is used, such as a mouse, the work efficiency will be reduced because it takes time to switch the device when switching between character input and pointing work. Then, character input and pointing are switched based on the difference in the selected area while operating the same device with the same finger, so that the operation of character input and pointing can be connected smoothly.

In the pointing mode, the screen display is fixed and the force sol on the screen is moved to perform pointing (cursor movement method). There are two types of methods, fixed at the center of the screen and moving the screen display contents (aiming window moving method).

 The aiming window moving method is a scrolling and pointing method suitable for the purpose of using a large image designed for a large screen terminal on a mobile terminal with a small screen. In this method, scrolling and pointing are performed simultaneously using a small screen as if it were a window or sight window. Using the small screen of the mobile terminal as a window that looks like a large screen, the user can grasp the contents of the entire large screen while moving (scrolling) this window, and at the same time, aim at the fixed position in the center of the window. It moves with the window and points to the target position.

 In the ordinary pointing method (force-sol movement method), the cursor is moved to the target position in a fixed window, but in the aiming window movement method, the cursor acts as the aiming position. The window itself moves and the aiming position moves together with the window for pointing. In this way, pointing and scrolling can be performed with the same operation, making it easy to view the display contents designed for a large screen on a mobile terminal with a small screen.

 However, in the aiming window moving method, the display information must be updated each time the window is moved, so a large communication capacity, high-speed memory, and high-speed image processing functions are required. Therefore, if the data required in the future is predicted and stored in advance in memory, the load of communication and calculation can be prevented from being concentrated at a single point in time, and the load can be distributed over time. The communication path and the capacity of the processor can be utilized without waste.

Hereafter, the specific configuration of the device will be shown as an example where the area for identifying the fingertip position is located in the fingertip movement range in three rows and three columns. However, even if the area is not three rows and three columns, most of the areas are adjacent. They can be arranged two-dimensionally so that other arrangements are possible. In the case of an area of 3 rows and 3 columns at each of the time when the fingertip is lowered and the time when the fingertip is raised, each area can be specified, so that a total of 8 areas can be specified by combining both. If each area corresponds to the information, 8 one type of information can be expressed. To display the menu, the names and icons (pictograms) that represent the contents of the submenus in the main menu are displayed as upper-level items arranged in three rows and three columns, and the descending area when the fingertip is lowered from the main menu is displayed. The lower item of the submenu associated with the selected upper item is arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns and displayed instead of the main menu. There is a method of selecting one of the lower items from a menu. This method is used

—I'll call it a scheme.

 As a different menu display method, the submenus, each having lower items of 3 rows and 3 columns, are arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns as upper items, and the lower items are arranged in 9 rows and 9 columns as a whole. There is a display method. This method is called the batch menu method. Even in the collective menu method, if a part of the submenu in which items of 3 rows and 3 columns are arranged is regarded as one large icon, it can be interpreted that the icons arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns as the upper item are the entire menu . At this time, the entire menu is the main menu, and the submenus are nested in the main menu and are displayed at the same time as the main menu.

 In the sequential menu method, the menu is displayed by sequentially switching between the main menu and submenu. Since each menu consists of 3 rows and 3 columns, the area occupied by the menu on the screen is always small. Therefore, it is suitable for displaying a menu on a small screen of a portable device. Since the size of the main menu and the submenu does not change, it is advisable to change the color etc. so that they can be distinguished.

In the collective menu method, 9-row, 9-column sub-items are displayed collectively on the monitor screen, and each section containing the 3-row, 3-column sub-items corresponding to each submenu is represented by a single large icon. This can be considered as one high-order item. In the main menu, the large icons (sections displaying lower-order items in 3 rows and 3 columns) are arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns. The section indicated by the fingertip position can be changed in color or displayed as a frame. Surrounded and displayed separately I do. When the fingertip is moved with the fingertip raised, the highlighted section changes to another section in conjunction with the movement of the fingertip. When the fingertip is lowered, the highlighted section is selected as a submenu.

 If you move your fingertip down after lowering your fingertip to select a submenu, the lower-level item indicated by the fingertip position in the lower row of the selected submenu in the 3rd row and 3rd column will be highlighted. Is displayed. The lower-level item that is highlighted changes to another lower-level item in the 3-row, 3-column sub-menu of the submenu in conjunction with the movement of the fingertip when moving with the fingertip lowered. The lower item highlighted in is selected from the submenu and input. In the batch menu method, even when selecting a lower-level item in a specific sub-menu, the lower-level items in other sub-menus are displayed together, and all information that can be input is always displayed at a glance. Cheap.

For the above menus, the small monitor screen of the portable device can be used to display the original contents as much as possible by displaying and deleting the menus appropriately according to the operation content. For example, when a finger is moved, stopped, a specific menu item is selected, or a specific button is pressed, a required menu appears or an unnecessary menu becomes blunt. I do. Alternatively, the menu may disappear if no operation is performed for a while. When the center area is used for shifting to the pointing mode, the menu only interferes with pointing, so when the fingertip is placed in the center area, the menu is not displayed and the fingertip surrounds the center area. The menu may be displayed only when moving to the surrounding area. When displaying a menu, a menu pop-up display near the work position (cursor position) minimizes the movement of the viewpoint when viewing the contents of the menu, and the viewpoint is always maintained near the work position. Input work can be continued as it is. When the cursor is near the corner of the screen, change the menu display position so that the menu fits on the monitor screen. For example, the cursor is at the top, bottom, left, or right corner of the screen In some cases, the menu should be displayed below, above, right, and left of the cursor, respectively.

 Hereinafter, the section on the screen that is selected according to the position of the fingertip in the main menu is called the section, and the section that is selected according to the position of the fingertip in the submenu is called the subsection. The section is selected when the fingertip is lowered, and the subsection is selected when the fingertip is raised. In the sequential menu method, both the main menu and the submenu consist of 3 rows and 3 columns. In each menu, one item indicated at the position of the fingertip is selected, so that both the section and the subsection are sections containing only one item.

 On the other hand, in the batch menu method, the main menu consists of 3 rows and 3 columns of submenus arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns. The entire menu consists of 9 rows and 9 columns. A section that contains 3 rows and 3 columns of items corresponding to each submenu among 9 rows and 9 columns of the main menu is a section. When moving with the fingertip raised, the highlighted section changes according to the fingertip position, and the highlighted section is selected when the fingertip is lowered. When moving with the fingertip lowered after selecting a section, the item corresponding to the fingertip position is highlighted within the range of 3 rows and 3 columns included in the selected section. The item highlighted when the fingertip is finally lifted is selected. Thus, a subsection is a section that contains only one item.

 In the information input device of the present invention, the operation of dividing a menu and selecting a section in this way, that is, sectioning is the basis of the interface. On the other hand, in the conventional graphical interface, the task of specifying coordinate points, that is, pointing, was the basis of the interface. Pointing is an operation to specify one point from the screen, and the operation cannot be hierarchized.

—On the other hand, sectioning selects sections at the first level, and sub-sections within the selected section at the next level. W

18 I can. In the above example, each section has a 3-row, 3-column subsection at the lower level, forming a 9-tree structure.

 A single stroke motion of the fingertip can access only two layers below the menu hierarchy, but by changing the reference layer (home section) at the start of the stroke exercise, a menu with an arbitrary number of layers can be accessed. Can be handled. For example, if the first stroke exercise accesses the menu two levels lower and the accessed subsection becomes a new home section, the next stroke exercise allows access to the menu two levels lower.

 The data input device of the present invention provides an interface suitable for handling not only the above-mentioned menus but also various systems generally having a tree structure. Therefore, the directory system ゃ the command system is hierarchized into a nine-tree structure, and the file selection ゃ command input can be executed efficiently by taking advantage of the advantage that one stroke motion of the fingertip can access two layers below the hierarchy at a time. Operating 'System (OS) can be configured. The information input device of the present invention can also be used as a controller for various home appliances. In particular, it is effective when a user selects a menu item displayed on the screen with a remote control on a video device such as a television, a video, a game, etc. in which the user looks directly at the screen. The conventional remote control needs to shift the viewpoint from the screen to the remote control at hand when searching for and pressing the target button from a large number of buttons, so that viewing of the image is hindered every time the viewpoint is moved. However, in the information input device of the present invention, if the fingertip is first placed at the specified position, various commands can be input only by the stroke motion of the fingertip. Therefore, the finger position can be grasped while looking at the screen. You can enter the desired command.

In the past, there were menu-type remote controllers, but it was necessary to frequently turn the viewpoint during operation in order to select a button, and when selecting a menu item, an incorrect item was selected due to a difference in visual and action timing. Was sometimes selected. By making it possible to confirm the finger position through tactile stimulation and linking changes in tactile stimulation with changes in selection items, it is possible to reliably grasp selection items through tactile stimulation and reduce erroneous operations. Wear.

 In the method described above, the force that the fingertip attempts to move without actually moving the fingertip is detected by the pressure-sensitive sensor 1, and the highlighted section or subsection is changed in conjunction with the detected pressure. It is also conceivable to do this.

 Furthermore, by changing the tactile stimulus applied to the finger according to the pressure applied from the fingertip, the selected item can be confirmed by the tactile stimulus. However, the operability of such a pressure-sensitive method is inferior to the method of actually moving a finger. When the tactile stimulus is changed, it is necessary to use a motor or solenoid as a driving source, which increases the cost of the device. In the method of actually moving the fingertip, the tactile stimulus can be changed by directly using the movement of the fingertip itself as a drive source without introducing such a drive source, or a new tactile stimulus can be received at the destination. Therefore, the cost of the equipment can be kept low.

 FIG. 1 shows an example of a mechanism for identifying a motion (stroke motion) of moving down and moving a fingertip with the information input device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The fingertip moves up and down in the direction of arrow 1 in Fig. 1 (a), and moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of up and down movement as shown by arrow 2 in Fig. 1 (a). Four seesaw-like mechanisms S are installed under the fingertip. Each of the Shizo mechanisms falls on the side where the arm 3 receives the force with the rotation axis 6 as a fulcrum. .

 A broken line 7 in FIGS. 1 (b), (c) and (d) means an elastic sheet stretched between the plates 4 of the four arms. As the material of the sheet 7, for example, a stocking cloth may be used. The fingertip touches sheet 7 and moves with sheet 7. The sheet 7 intervenes between the fingertip and the plate 4 or the spherical portion 5 and slides on the plate 4 or the spherical portion 5 to help the fingertip move smoothly on the plate or the spherical portion. Sheet 7 is removable so that it can be replaced when it becomes old and wears out.

One side of the arm 3 is provided with a plate 4 on which a fingertip collides, and the rotating shaft 6 is used as a fulcrum of the wheel to tilt the arm 3 outward. A spherical portion 5 rises and stimulates the belly of the fingertip. In this embodiment, the spherical portion 5 is an example of the area notifying means. Like this Figures 2 (a) to 2 (d) show the child as viewed from the side.

 Figures 2 (a) to 2 (d) show how the arm collapses and the spherical part 5 stimulates the belly of the finger when moving the fingertip for the four positions of the fingertip. In Fig. 2 (b), the fingertip is located at the center of the seat, and a downward force is applied to the seat. At this time, the perforator falls down inward, and the bulb 5 retracts downward without stimulating the finger. In FIGS. 2 (a), (b), (c), and (d), an overhang portion 17 is provided, which restricts the downward movement of the fingertip. In (a), the spherical part 5 is raised halfway and stimulates the finger slightly, but in (b), the spherical part 5 is completely stored under the overhang 1.7 and does not stimulate the finger. (C) In (d), the finger on the side to which the fingertip is moved falls outward, and the spherical part protrudes above the overhang 17 to stimulate the finger.

In Fig. 2 (e), (f), and (g), the fingering position of each of (b), (c), and (d) when viewed from above is indicated by a broken ellipse 16. When the overhang 17 is viewed from above, it can be seen that it overhangs in an X shape. The fingertip is further moved in the direction of the arrow at nine positions indicated by an oval 19 painted black in FIG. When the fingertip is moved in each direction in the direction of the arrow and the plate 4 is tilted, the four bulbs apply different forms of stimulus to the finger according to the fingertip position, and the user uses the stimulus as a clue to the fingertip. The position can be grasped. In addition, the apparatus detects a falling one of the four seesaws by using the switches SW1, SW2, SW3, and SW4 to identify the finger position. The switches SW1, SW2, SW3, and SW4 are examples of the moving area detecting means in the present embodiment. Fig. 1 (c) shows the switch 9 for detecting that the PC is down. Here, when arm 3 is moved outward along arrow 8, switch 9 becomes 0 N. Since each of the four PCs has a switch 9, the switches of each PC are named SW1, SW2, SW3 and SW4 as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. Then, the way the switch is turned on and off at each of the nine fingertip positions in Fig. 3 changes. The switches that are turned on when the fingertip is moved to the area indicated by the black ellipse and the plate 4 is pressed in the direction of the arrow are shown below each figure in Fig. 3. In this way, nine areas can be assumed for the fingertip movement range, and the area where the fingertip is located can be identified by the ON / OFF status of SW1, SW2, SW3, and SW4. Further, the fingertip moves up and down along arrow 1 as shown in FIG. This vertical movement is detected by switch 12 in Fig. 1 (c). The switch 12 is an example of the vertical movement detecting means in this embodiment. Switch 1 and 2 are turned ON when the fingertip is lowered, and set to 0FF when the fingertip is raised.

 In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d), the switch 12 detects the vertical movement of the fingertip of the finger different from the thumb behind the device. Even when the thumb tip is stationary, when the fingertip behind the device moves up and down, it can be considered that the thumb tip is moving up and down relative to the fingertip behind the device. In the configurations of FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d), the switch 12 detects such a relative vertical movement of the thumb tip.

 Reference numerals 13 and 14 in FIG. 1 (c) denote a light receiving element and a light source of the optical pointing device, respectively. It is preferable to provide an overhang part 7 shown in Fig. 2 and bury the light receiving element 13 and the light source 14 above this overhang part. A grid pattern is drawn on the back of the sheet 7. When the pointing mode is selected, the light receiving element and the light source work to detect the movement of the grid pattern on the sheet lining that moves with the fingertip. . The cursor in the screen moves in conjunction with the movement of the grid pattern detected here, and pointing is performed.

FIG. 4 shows another mechanism of the movement detecting means for applying different tactile stimuli to the finger according to the fingertip position. The fingertip moves smoothly on the platform 2 1. The degree of protrusion of the protrusion 20 that stimulates the fingertip is configured to change according to the fingertip position. Numeral 23 denotes a spherical joint in the joint, the angle of which is freely changed while being held by the receiving part 24. 22 is a rotation axis of the joint. Reference numeral 25 denotes a cross section of the frame that supports the bottom of the protrusion 20 that rotates about the rotation axis 22. While being supported by this frame, the protrusion 20 continues to stimulate the finger, but when the base 21 moves with the fingertip and the bottom of the protrusion 20 comes off the indicating frame 25, the protrusion 20 is rotated. Around 22 Rotates and retracts, no longer irritates fingers.

 FIG. 5 shows still another specific example of the movement detecting means. Here, a slide table 18 and a rotary table 26 are used instead of the spherical joint, and the table 21 on which the fingertip is placed is designed to move smoothly. A spring 27 is used so that the platform on which the fingertip is placed moves up and down and moves horizontally, and then returns to the standard position. Reference numeral 28 denotes a vertical movement guide section. In either mechanism, when one end of the projection hits the table, the other end is pushed out and stimulates the finger.

 FIG. 15 shows another example of the movement detecting means. Four sticks 46 are provided to stimulate different positions on both sides of the finger 47. Figure (a) shows how two sticks move and stimulate one side of the finger. (B) is a cross section of the device viewed from the side of the fingertip, and one end of the stick 46 passes through the hole 49 provided on the wall 50 surrounding the fingertip 51, and the finger 46 has Stimulate the sides. The opposite end of the stick 49 is provided with a plate 48. When the fingertip is moved and the plate 48 hits the outer wall 52, the opposite end of the stick that is ap- plied to the outer wall 52 by the reaction returns. (C) shows a state in which the side is protruding so as to stimulate it. (C) is a view of the apparatus viewed from above, in which the fingertip enters the inside of the elliptical wall 50 and moves along the wall 50 with the fingertip. Each figure shows four sticks at each fingertip position protruding from the wall 50 surrounding the fingertip in an elliptical shape to the finger side.

 Among the various methods described above, in the method shown in Fig. 15, the tactile stimulus is applied in a direction parallel to the direction of fingertip movement, so that the reaction of the tactile stimulus and the vertical movement of the fingertip do not interfere at right angles. As a result, the independence of the fingertip movement and the up-and-down movement is enhanced, and erroneous input is less likely to occur. 'However, the method of Fig. 1 is superior in terms of the ease of identifying tactile stimuli.

In addition to the mechanisms shown in each of the above figures, various methods for giving a tactile stimulus to a finger can be considered. As a simple method, for example, a plurality of balls or pole-shaped protrusions are provided at the fingertip contact portion, and the rotation of the ball itself or a sheet provided with flexibility and low friction between the ball-shaped protrusions and fingers can be used. While the fingertip smoothly moves on the ball or ball-shaped projection, the pole grasps the unevenness of the ball-shaped projection and is placed on the screen so as to correspond to the uneven position. There is a method of selecting a menu item by using the tactile information of unevenness as a clue. By arranging the ball-shaped projections in two rows and two columns, nine areas can be identified by differences in the concavo-convex pattern. Therefore, if the fingertip is stroked on the pole-shaped projections arranged in two rows and two columns, information of the square of the number of areas, that is, 81 types can be input.

 FIG. 6 shows a configuration example in which the information input device of the present invention is applied to a portable terminal which also serves as a portable telephone. (A) is a view seen from the front, a display screen 29, a mobile phone equipped with the data input device 30, grip section 32, microphone 33, and earphone 34 of the present invention given in FIG. 1. Show the story. The drip portion 32 can be folded as shown in FIG. 11D, and can be rotated in either direction of the arrows 37 and 38. Rotate the grip section 32 in the direction of 38 when using it with the right hand, and rotate it in the direction of 37 when using it with the left hand.

 When used as a telephone, as shown in (a), open the grip section 32 in a “j” shape, and listen to the earphone 34 provided on the side of the display screen 29 with the ear as the ear. 3 Touch the mouth with the microphone 33 provided on the side of 2. When the grip portion 32 is held with the right hand and the left hand, rotate the grip portion 32 in the opposite direction. Since the device is used in the shape of “ku”, the side of the device that hits the mouth and ears changes. Therefore, the microphone 33 and the earphone 34 were installed on both sides of the display screen 29 and the grip section 32, respectively, and the microphone 33 and the earphone 34 hit the mouth and ears regardless of which hand was held. I am trying to.

 (b) shows a view of (a) from the side, and (c) shows a view of the back. The index finger shift key 35 and the middle finger shift key 36 are buttons that are pressed with the index finger and the middle finger from the back side of the device, respectively. These buttons are installed on the cylindrical rotating part 31 and rotate together with the cylindrical rotating part 31 in the direction of arrow 39 so that the buttons 35 and 36 can be easily pressed with the index and middle fingers. it can.

If the mobile terminal also serves as a mobile phone, it is necessary to devise a design that arranges the screen horizontally and easily while holding the grip section 32. (E) (f) (g) Another configuration example that satisfies the requirement is shown. Two rotary shaft joints are used so that the display screen 29 can change the angle with two axes of freedom with respect to the drip section 32. When stored, it is folded as shown in (e) and used as a mobile phone The display screen 29 can be opened at different angles depending on the application as shown in (f) at a time and as shown in (g) when used as a portable terminal.

 Figures 7 and 9 show examples of menus displayed in the batch menu method (Figure 7) and the sequential menu method (Figure 9), respectively. In each figure, when the fingertip moves as shown in (b), (e), and (h) due to the stroke motion, the menu display is (c), (f), (i), or (d) (g) ( j).

 With the fingertip raised, move from the position of the dashed ellipse 16 in (b) to the position P1 of the dashed ellipse in (e), lower the fingertip at position P1, and hold the fingertip down (h) Move to the dotted line ellipse position P2 and raise your fingertip at position P2. In practice, by pressing switch 12 with another fingertip and then releasing it, it is detected that the thumb relatively descends and then rises. When the fingertip makes a stroke motion in this way, the section corresponding to the fingertip position in the menu of (c) (f) (i) or (d) (g) (j) is surrounded by a thick frame 43 and other sections Is displayed in distinction.

 In (a), a sentence 40 is partially input on the screen 41, and the fingertip indicates the central section of the menu 44. The indicated section is surrounded by a bold frame 43 and is distinguished from other sections. The force solver 42 is displayed as an Angou line, and the numeral 45 is a line for displaying a message from the system.

Figure 7 shows two examples of menu display in the batch menu method. In one example, the menu displayed when the fingertip makes a stroke motion as shown in (b), (e), and (h) changes as shown in (c), (f), and (i). If you place your fingertip first at the position of the dotted ellipse 16 in (b), the center section in (c) is displayed in a bold frame. As shown in (e), when the fingertip is raised and moved to the position of P1 (lower left area in the lower part of the movement area), the section surrounded by the thick frame changes as shown in (f) in conjunction with the movement of the fingertip . P 1 When the fingertip is lowered at the position of (press switch 1 and 2), the section surrounded by the thick frame of (: f) is selected. With the fingertip lowered, the fingertip is moved to the P2 position (h). As shown in (i), the item (R in the figure) at the position corresponding to P2 in the previously selected section is surrounded by a bold frame as shown in (i). Is shown. If you lift your fingertip as it is, R is selected and input.

 In another example of the menu display of the batch menu method, the menu displayed when the fingertip makes a stroke motion as shown in (b), (e), and (h) changes as shown in Figs. 7 (d), (g), and (j). . (C) The difference from the menus of (f) and (i) is that in (g) and (j), only the items in the 3rd row and 3rd column of the selected section are displayed. This is the point that the indicated item is indicated by being surrounded by a thick frame.

In Fig. 8 (a), the menu when the shift key 35 or 36 is pressed in the batch menu method is shown on the left, and the menu when the shift key 35 or 36 is not pressed is shown on the right. This example is a menu for inputting alphabetic characters, and is a 9-row, 9-column character array. Each section on the monitor separated by the boundary is called a section. The center section has the function of shifting to the pointing mode. Each section in Fig. 8 (b) has an icon representing the content of the section at the corresponding position in both menus in (a). _C Here, various characters and symbols are classified into sections according to the following policy. Icon.

Vertical 'horizontal stroke D-only letter (F TE I LH): Icon indicating vertical / horizontal stroke (top left of (b)).

Characters that do not include a closed loop and have a diagonal stroke (WVYKXNMAZ): An icon that indicates a diagonal stroke (center in the upper row of (b)).

Numbers and arithmetic symbols: Icons indicating numbers and arithmetic symbols (top right of (b)).

Characters with a curved part without a closed loop (CSGUJ): An icon indicating an unclosed curve (middle left of (b)).

Transition to pointing mode: Arrow icons pointing up, down, left and right from the center ((b) Middle middle).

Various symbols in the text: Icons indicating periods and parentheses (middle right of (b)).

Characters that include a closed loop with a curved part (P RD 0 B Q): An icon indicating a closed loop (lower left of (b)).

Other symbols: Icon indicating @.

Special character · Delete (space, line feed, backspace, tab, etc.): Icon indicating character deletion (bottom right of (b)).

 Fig. 9 shows two examples of menu display using the sequential menu method. In one example, the menu displayed when the fingertip makes a stroke motion as shown in (b), (e), and (h) changes as shown in (c), (f), and (i). First, when the fingertip is raised and placed at the position of the dotted ellipse 16 in (b), the central section in (c) is displayed with a thick frame. As shown in (e), when the fingertip is raised and moved to the position of P1, the section surrounded by the thick frame changes as shown in (f) in conjunction with the movement of the fingertip. When the fingertip is lowered at the position of P1, the section enclosed by the thick frame (f) is selected, and the submenu (i) showing the contents of this section is displayed instead of the main menu (の). You. When the fingertip is moved down to the position of P2 in (h) with the fingertip lowered, as shown in (i), the position (R in the figure) at the position corresponding to P2 in the submenu is displayed. It is shown in a bold frame. If you lift your fingertip as it is, R is selected and input.

In another example of menu display using the sequential menu method, the fingertip makes a stroke motion as shown in (b), (e), and (h). The menu displayed when the fingertip moves is shown in Figs. 9 (d), (g), and (j). change. (C) The difference from the menus of (f) and (i) is that the fingertip is moved to the position of P1 without lowering the fingertip in (e), and the position of P1 is supported as shown in (g). This is where a submenu showing the contents of the section appears. In other words, in the menu display examples (d), (g), and (j), the main menu appears only when the fingertip is raised and placed in the center area, and when the fingertip is raised and moves to the surrounding area, it corresponds to the fingertip position. Submenu is displayed instead of the main menu. On the other hand, (c) (f) (i) In the new display example, when the fingertip is lowered, the submenu corresponding to the position where the fingertip is lowered appears for the first time, and the main menu is always displayed as long as the fingertip is raised. Figures 10, | ll, Figures 12, and 13 show examples of assigning characters, commands, and functions to items in the 9-row, 9-column menu in the collective menu method. The 9-row, 9-column items in the menu in each of these figures are separated by a 3-row, 3-column 每 border.

 Each of the partitioned sections is a section. The entire menu consisting of 9 rows and 9 columns is called the main menu, and the partial menu consisting of 3 rows and 3 columns in each section is called the submenu. Select the section indicated by the fingertip when lowering the fingertip, and select the item specified by the fingertip when raising the fingertip from the items in the 3rd row and 3rd column of the selected section.

 In this batch menu method, names and icons representing items in 3 rows and 3 columns in each section are introduced, and the names and icons are arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns to form a main menu. By arranging the items in a column to form a submenu, a sequential menu system can be obtained. (A) in Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 12, and Fig. 13 is a menu that appears when the shift key (the index finger shift key 35 and the middle finger shift key 36 in Fig. 6) is not pressed. is there. (B) is a menu that appears when the index finger shift key 35 is pressed. And (c) is the menu that appears when you appoint the middle finger shift key 36. Pressing the index finger shift buttons 35 and the middle finger shift buttons 36 at the same time and raising the tip of the thumb releases the section selected by mistake. The meanings of the various abbreviations used in these menu items are described below, together with the explanation of each figure.

 Note that the abbreviations in FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 are represented by two single-byte alphabetic characters, but in practice, it is easier to see them with icons.

Fig. 10 shows a menu mainly for displaying the contents of the file / enterprise site. Functions mainly related to pointing, scrolling, and linking are arranged in the menu. The center section says "pointing compatible" However, when the fingertip is lowered in the center section, the mode shifts to the pointing mode. When the fingertip is moved with the finger held down, the force of the screen moves in conjunction with the fingertip and moves to an arbitrary point on the screen. It means that you can point. In the pointing mode, the index finger shift key 35 and the middle finger shift key 36 perform functions compatible with the left mouse button and the right mouse button, respectively.

 You can also use the following functions related to links and access. L1-L9: Up to nine links to a specific file displayed on the screen, such as the web site, are displayed in the menu. il-1 i9: Register up to 9 bookmarks (indexes) for any web site file. Access. hi—h9: Automatically register up to 9 web site files accessed in the past as history. r i: Shift to the slip registration mode. d i: Transition to bookmark erasing mode.

 The other abbreviations are as follows. f: Display Scrolling of the iE plane in line units. > <Λ V: Scrolls the display screen by page. s c: Switching between force sol moving method and aiming window moving method. If there are multiple sections to which the same function is assigned, the same function will be input even if the fingertip is raised in any of the sections.

Press the middle finger shift button 36 in the pointing mode to enter the following functions. cu: c ut (move the specified range to the clipboard) ₀ pa: paste (paste from the clipboard). cp: c0 py (copy the specified range to the clipboard). ca: c an cel (cancel the last operation and copy to command line) rd: redo (execute the command in the command buffer) sb: start point of range specification of current force cursor position Se: Sets the current cursor position to the end point of the range specification The range specified by these can be copied and pasted to the clipboard.

The following functions related to file management are provided. s _v : Saves the display content to a file. qt: End. nw: Create new file. op: Open a file. d1: download, u1: upload (download site data to file) Load and file data on site hairbroad).

 The display of the mobile terminal is necessarily small. Since the screen scrolls frequently on small displays, it is important that the scrolling of the screen and cooperation with other operations be performed smoothly. For example, it is necessary to be able to scroll freely while performing other operations such as specifying a range.

 Therefore, in the menu described above, the scroll function has been enhanced, and the scrolling in page units and the scrolling in line units have been devised so that they can be easily linked with pointing.

 Figures 11 and 12 show the menus for inputting Hiragana and English characters (or Roman characters), respectively. In each menu, the special character 'delete function' is described by the following abbreviations. s p: Blank. r t: Line feed. b s: Bucks first. d 1: Delete. t b ': Evening.

The character type (input mode) switching function is indicated by the following abbreviations. kn: Power input mode. hr: Hiragana input mode. en: Alphabet input mode. _s b: Symbol input mode. rk: Romaji kana conversion mode. : Characters are arranged in the menu in a format compatible with the QWERTY keypad. In the Hiragana input, sections are grouped with Hiragana of the same consonant. In the section, each hiragana is arranged according to a certain rule according to the type of vowel following the consonant.

 The following cV and qk are provided in the menus in Figs. 11 and 12 so that they can be directly input in the character input mode, but they are abbreviations for functions related to kana-kanji conversion. c v: Perform Kana-Kanji conversion (displays the conversion result on the screen and shifts to the Kana-Kanji conversion mode menu shown in Fig. 13 at the same time). q k: Set to Kana without changing to Kana-Kanji conversion mode.

In the mode that converts hiragana to vague characters, the menu shown in Fig. 13 is used. Entering Hiragana automatically switches to Kana-Kanji conversion mode, and the input Hiragana is held in the Kana-Kanji conversion puffer until the conversion result is determined. When you input Hiragana and enter cv, conversion result candidates are arranged and displayed in 3 rows and 3 columns as shown in (a), and the target candidate is selected by the stroke motion of the fingertip. Pressing the index finger shift key brings up the menu shown in (b) and allows the use of various functions represented by the following abbreviations. pb: Move to the previous clause. nb: Move to the next clause. eb: Extended clause. rb: Reduce a phrase. da: All phrases are determined at the same time. bk: Cancels the conversion mode and returns to the original hiragana input state. zh: Converted to full-width hiragana. zk: Converted to full-width katakana. hk: Converted to half-width katakana. ze: Converted to full-width alphanumeric characters. he: Converted to half-width alphanumeric characters. nm: Move to the next conversion candidate menu. pm: Returns to the previous conversion candidate menu. If the conversion candidates cannot be displayed in a 3-row, 3-column menu, use multiple menus. At this time, the menu is switched and displayed according to nm and pm.

 In recent years, an input method has become widespread in which, when a few characters at the beginning of a word are entered, a list of word candidates having the corresponding character at the beginning appears. When displaying candidate words in a menu and selecting them in such a manner, it is advisable to arrange the candidates in the format shown in Fig. 13 (a).

 Fig. 14 (b) is an example of a screen when a web page is displayed. The link is

They are arranged in three rows and three columns. When the fingertip is moved as shown in (a), the link destination corresponding to the fingertip position is surrounded by a frame and displayed separately from other link destinations.

When the fingertip is lowered in this state, the link destination surrounded by the frame is selected. If there is an additional item in the 3rd row and 3rd column at the link destination, the menu switches to the display of the 3rd row and 3rd column item, move the fingertip down, point to the target item, and raise the fingertip. The specified item is selected. Industrial applicability

 As described above, the present invention

A vertical movement detecting means for detecting the vertical movement of the fingertip; and a moving area in which the fingertip can move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical movement. A moving area detecting means provided for a plurality of areas and detecting an area corresponding to a position of a fingertip moving in the moving area; and a fingertip detected by the vertical movement detecting means and the moving area detecting means is lowered. Information output means for outputting predetermined information based on a combination of a descending area corresponding to the position and an ascending area corresponding to the position at which the fingertip has risen; an area corresponding to the position at which the fingertip moves or the area And an area notifying means for notifying the operator of a change in the position of the fingertip moving on the information input device.

 According to this information input device, it is possible to input complicated information by a simple stroke motion of the fingertip, and the finger position can be changed by using a simple finger position change that is easy to identify even for a beginner. By being able to grasp the position, the visual load of inputting data and other information has been reduced, and beginners can easily learn blind input and enter various types of information at high speed.

 If the area notification means informs the operator of a change in the position of the fingertip moving in the area or the area by the tactile stimulus applied to the finger, the position of the fingertip is clearly determined by tactile stimulation of the fingertip. Since it is possible to know, it is possible to provide an easy-to-use information input device for beginners or unhealthy people.

 Also, the information output means displays a plurality of main images displayed in a geometrically similar relationship with a plurality of areas set in the movement area on the screen according to the movement of the fingertip. If the operator displays on the screen a plurality of sub-sections set in the main section while maintaining the geometric similarity to the arrangement of the plurality of sections set in the moving area, the operator can use the section. It is only necessary to move the fingertips sensuously based on the similarity between the subareas, and the arrangement of the areas is easy to understand, so that subareas can be specified without skill and blind touching is possible with a slight familiarity. Would.

In addition, the relationship between the main section and sub-section is repeated and returned. If the information corresponding to the section at the end of the hierarchy is character information or command information, the selection of a complex concept over multiple layers can be performed as described above. This can be achieved by a stroke movement, which simplifies character input and command input to a computer.

 Furthermore, the section corresponding to the descending area is information corresponding to the type of consonant, the section corresponding to the above-mentioned ascending area is information relating to the type of vowel, and the information output means is selected by a combination of these pieces of information. If it is configured to output characters or sounds, the characters and sounds can be specified and output by extremely simple operations.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. Vertical movement detecting means for detecting the vertical movement of the fingertip, and provided in a plurality of areas set in a movable area in which the fingertip can move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical movement, and moves in the movable area. A moving area detecting means for detecting an area corresponding to the position of the fingertip to be moved; a descending area corresponding to the position where the finger ^ detected by the vertical movement detecting means and the moving area detecting means is lowered; An information output means for outputting a predetermined report based on a combination with an ascending area corresponding to the ascended position; and a change in the position of the fingertip moving in the area corresponding to the position where the fingertip moves or the area in which the fingertip moves. An information input device comprising: an area notification means for notifying an operator of the information input.  2. The information input according to claim 1, wherein the area notification means notifies an operator of a change in the position of the area or a fingertip moving on the area by a tactile stimulus applied to a finger. 3. The information output means displays, on the screen, a plurality of main sections displayed in a geometrically similar relationship with the plurality of areas set in the moving area in accordance with the movement of the fingertip, 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of sub-sections set in the main section are displayed on a screen while maintaining a geometric similarity with the arrangement of the plurality of sections set in the moving area. Information input device described in crab. 4. The relationship between the main section and the sub-sections is repeated so that the hierarchy of information is sequentially traced from the upper concept to the lower concept, and the information corresponding to the end section of the hierarchy is character information or command information. The information according to claim 2 or 3, wherein Information input device.  5. The section corresponding to the descending area is information corresponding to the type of consonant, the section corresponding to the ascending area is information corresponding to the type of vowel, and the information output means is a combination of these pieces of information. The information input device described in * 1 that outputs characters or sounds selected by the user.