JP3176347B2 - pointing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a pointing device for moving a cursor on a display in a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When operating a computer, a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball is used to move a cursor on a display.
In recent years, in addition to the conventional function of moving a cursor, a function for improving operability of an application has been added to a pointing device.
For example, a mouse having a function of performing a screen scrolling process without moving a cursor to a scroll button has appeared. Thus, adding a new function to the pointing device is one of the important elements for improving the operability of the computer.

[0003]

By the way, in order to add a new function to the pointing device as described above, it is necessary to supply data in a format different from the cursor movement data from the pointing device to the computer. For this reason, mouse and trackball
A configuration in which a wheel button for obtaining operation data is added in addition to the ball is generally adopted. However,
In this configuration, it is necessary to add a new operation mechanism in addition to the ball mechanism provided in the conventional mouse and trackball. For this reason, there is a problem that the device is enlarged and the cost is increased, and application to a space-saving personal computer is difficult.

[0004] In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing device capable of obtaining two types of operation data and realizing miniaturization.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pointing device provided with a ball for operating a cursor and a ball rotation detector for detecting the number of rotations of the ball. Operation direction detection means is provided to be operable from both sides, and detects that the ball has been operated from one of the front and back sides, and based on the output of the operation direction detection means, the output of the ball rotation detection unit A data conversion unit for converting and outputting data; the data conversion unit converts the output data of the ball rotation detection unit into XY direction data when the ball is operated from one of the front and back sides. Car as
It is converted to sol movement data and output. When operated from the other side, the output data of the ball rotation detector is converted into Z-direction data.
Data is output after being converted into data.

In this pointing device,
The operation direction detecting means detects whether the ball has been operated from the front side or has been operated from the back side , and the data conversion unit converts the data based on this detection output.Therefore, in a device such as a computer to which a pointing device is connected, Different operations can be performed when operated from the front side and when operated from the back side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pointing device according to the first aspect, when the ball is operated from the other side, the data converter outputs the output data of the ball rotation detector.
It is characterized in that it is converted into scroll data and output.

[0008] In this pointing device,
The operation direction detecting means detects whether the ball is operated from the front side or the back side, and the data conversion unit converts the data based on the detection output. Therefore, when the pointing device is operated from one side, a device such as a computer performs cursor movement processing, and when operated from the other side, screen scrolling processing is performed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a notebook personal computer provided with a pointing device according to the present embodiment. The notebook personal computer 1 includes a trackball 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the trackball 2 includes a ball 11, a holder unit 12, and a controller (data conversion unit) 15, and the ball 11 is rotatably accommodated in the holder unit 12. Ball 11 stored in holder 12
Are exposed from the upper and lower surfaces of the holder portion 12 and the front side 1
6. It can be operated from two directions on the back side 17.

The holder section 12 is provided with a front-side operation determination sensor (operation direction detection means) 13 and a rear-side operation determination sensor (operation direction detection means) 14. The front-side operation discrimination sensor 13 and the back-side operation discrimination sensor 14 are respectively closer to the back (lower in FIG. 2) and closer to the front (upper in FIG. 2) with respect to the ball center 18, that is, the center plane of the holder portion 12. Are arranged in opposition to the ball 11. The front-side operation determination sensor 13 and the back-side operation determination sensor 14 are pressure sensors that generate a potential change due to pressure, and generate a potential change when pressure is applied. That is, when the ball 11 is operated from the front side 16, the ball 11 is pressed in the back side direction, so that the front side operation determination sensor 13 provided near the back side of the holder detects the pressure, and the ball 11 is moved to the back side 1.
When the ball 11 is operated from the front side, the ball 11 is pressed in the front side direction, so that the back side operation determination sensor 14 provided near the front side of the holder detects the pressure.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of the trackball 2. As shown in FIG. The controller 15 includes an operation direction determination circuit 22 and a data conversion circuit 23. The operation direction determination circuit 22 applies a reference potential 204 to both the front side operation determination sensor 13 and the back side operation determination sensor 14, and Front side operation determination sensor 13 and back side operation determination sensor 14
-Side operating potential 202 and back-side operating potential 203 generated from
Are always sent. Operation direction determination circuit 22
Supplies the operation direction signal 205 to the data conversion circuit 23. A ball rotation sensor (ball rotation detection unit) 21 for detecting rotation of the ball is provided in the holder 12.
The ball rotation data 201 generated from the ball rotation sensor 21 is sent to the data conversion circuit 23, and the converted data 206 is transmitted to and received from the computer main body 24.

The operation of the trackball will be described below. When the trackball 2 is operated, when an operation 16 is performed on the ball 11 from the front side, the ball 11
The ball rotation sensor 21 detects the number of rotations of the ball while applying pressure to the front-side operation determination sensor 13 by pressing force. When the operation 17 from the back side is performed, the ball rotation sensor 21 detects the number of rotations of the ball while the ball 11 comes into contact with the back side operation determination sensor 14 with the pressing force and applies pressure. Since the direction in which pressure is applied is different between the operation 16 from the front side and the operation 17 from the back side, different potential changes depending on the operation direction cause the front-side operation determination sensor 1
3 and output from the back-side operation determination sensor 14 and supplied to the operation direction determination circuit 22. Also, ball rotation data 201
Is supplied to the data conversion circuit 23.

The operation direction determination circuit 22 has a reference potential 204.
And the front-side operation potential 202 and the back-side operation potential 204 are compared to determine the operation direction.
5 is transmitted to the data conversion circuit 23. Data conversion circuit 2
Reference numeral 3 refers to the operation direction signal 205, converts the ball rotation data 201 in accordance with the operation determination result, and transfers the data 206 to the computer main body 24.

Next, the operation of the data conversion circuit 23 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step A, the data conversion circuit 23 detects the presence or absence of the ball rotation data 201. If the ball rotation data 201 exists, the operation direction signal 205 is referred to in the next step B. When the operation direction signal 205 indicates the front side, in step C-1, the ball rotation data 201 is converted into XY direction data into an interface format with the computer main body 24, and is transferred to the computer main body in step D. On the other hand, if the operation direction signal 205 indicates the back side, in step C-2, the ball rotation data 20
1 is converted to Z-direction data and transferred to the computer body in step D. As a result, in the trackball 2 of the notebook personal computer 1, the operation 43 from the near side operates as a cursor movement on the display screen 45, and the operation 44 from the rear side is, for example, application scrolling as Z-direction data.
It can be operated as a function.

As described above, in this embodiment, the pressure sensors 13 and 14 for detecting the operation direction of the ball are mounted on the holder 1.
2, two types of operation data can be obtained without providing a separate operation button or the like other than the mechanism for moving the cursor. Further, since there is no need to provide a separate operation button or the like, the size of the apparatus can be reduced, and application to a space-saving personal computer is possible.

In this embodiment, when the ball 11 is operated from the back side, the data is converted into the Z-direction data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the ball 11 is operated up, down, left and right from the back side. Can be arbitrarily defined in the computer main body 24.
Therefore, the operation environment can be freely extended and provided only by changing the software without making a mechanical change.

[0017]

As described above, in the pointing device according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain two types of operation data without providing a separate operation mechanism other than the mechanism for moving the cursor, and to save space by downsizing the apparatus. It can be applied to personal computers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a personal computer provided with a trackball shown as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the trackball.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the trackball.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the trackball.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Trackball (pointing device) 11 Ball 13 Upper operation discrimination sensor (operation direction detection means) 14 Lower operation discrimination sensor (operation direction detection means) 15 Controller (data conversion unit) 21 Ball rotation sensor (ball rotation detection unit)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pointing device provided with a ball for cursor operation and a ball rotation detecting unit for detecting the number of rotations of the ball, wherein the ball is provided so as to be operable from both front and back sides, and Operating direction detecting means for detecting that an operation has been performed from any of the back side; and a data converting unit for converting and outputting output data of the ball rotation detecting unit based on an output of the operating direction detecting means. , the data conversion unit, when the ball has been operated from either side of the front and back side, the output data of the ball rotation detection unit to the cursor movement data as X-Y-direction data
A pointing device, which converts and outputs the output data, and when operated from the other side, converts the output data of the ball rotation detector into Z-direction data and outputs the Z-direction data . 2. A pointing device according to claim 1, when the ball is operated from the other side, the data conversion unit, disk output data of the ball rotation detection unit
A pointing device characterized in that it is converted into roll data and output.