JP2560563B2 - Function selection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a function selecting device for realizing a desired function by instructing a display corresponding to the function so as to realize the desired function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various methods such as icons, menus, and command inputs are used as function selection methods for realizing desired functions. An icon is an area in which figures or characters symbolizing a certain function are displayed, and when the function is to be realized, the function is executed by moving the mouse to the area and clicking.

A menu consists of several items in which function names are written, and one or more of these items are selected with the mouse to execute the function. The menu is always displayed on the display, the menu bar with the menu name written is placed in a fixed position on the display, and the menu item is displayed when the mouse is clicked. There is a popup menu method where a menu is displayed on the spot.
In some cases, when one item is selected, the next menu appears so that the functions are hierarchized.

The command input method executes a function by directly inputting a command name from a keyboard. There is also a method in which the command key is not entered in its entirety, but is executed by the abbreviated key which is a combination of a specific key (control key, escape key, etc.) and one of the alphabet keys.

[0005]

In the case of an icon, the position displayed on the display is usually fixed, and when selecting, the mouse must be moved to the area of the icon. Also, as the number of icons increases, it takes up more space, and it is often difficult to prepare easy-to-understand pictures, diagrams, and characters in a small area, especially when the functions are increased or the functions are complicated. In the case of the menu method, the area occupied by the menu itself increases due to the increase in the number of items and the length of the items. In the case of the command input method, it is possible to execute the function in a short time if you learn once, such as the abbreviated key method, which is effective for experts, but if you want to execute the desired function while operating with the mouse, The operation is troublesome because the mouse and the keyboard have to be exchanged.

As described above, the currently used system has a problem that when the number of functions is increased, a large space is taken up on the display, and a troublesome operation and time are required when selecting a function. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a function selection device that displays a graphic pattern made up of line segments on a display and realizes a desired function by designating the line segment. With the goal.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an input unit for designating a window generation position and a line segment displayed in the generated window, 2
Is a window generation unit for displaying a graphic pattern consisting of a predetermined line segment at the window generation position, 3 is a line segment recognition unit for recognizing a line segment having an intersection with the input line segment generated by the input unit 1, Reference numeral 4 denotes a function execution unit that has a command table corresponding to the line segment of the window displayed by the window generation unit 2, and executes the command corresponding to the line segment recognized by the line segment recognition unit 3.

A second graphic pattern corresponding to a line segment is provided in the command table, and the command corresponding to the line segment of the second graphic pattern is set as described in the command table. When the line segment corresponding to the pattern is designated by the input unit 1, the second
The graphic pattern is displayed in the window so that the line segment of the second graphic pattern can be designated.

Further, it is possible to update the combination of commands corresponding to the line segments forming the graphic pattern of the command table.

The graphic pattern or the second graphic pattern is composed of line segments, and the line type, color,
Allow one or more combinations of line thickness and background color.

[0011]

The window generator 2 for designating a position on the display from the input unit 1 displays a window of a predetermined graphic pattern composed of line segments, so that a line segment for realizing a desired function is next input unit 1 Specify with. The line segment recognizing unit 3 recognizes the line segment designated by the input unit 1, and the function executing unit 4 extracts a command corresponding to the recognized line segment from the command table and executes this command. Note that the input person needs to know the contents of the command table in order to specify the line segment.

If a second graphic pattern is provided in the command table in correspondence with the line segment, the second graphic pattern is displayed in the window when the line segment is selected. Therefore, the line segment of the second graphic pattern is displayed. By specifying, it becomes possible to expand the selection range of functions.

Further, by making it possible to update the correspondence between the line segment of the figure pattern and the command, it is possible to change the function that is no longer used to the function that is newly used.

In addition, the background color of the graphic pattern can be changed,
Many graphic patterns can be realized by using line segment colors, line segment types such as broken lines and solid lines, and thick and thin lines.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment, in which 10 is a display, 20 is a keyboard, 30 is a mouse, 40 is a window system, and 50 is a function realizing unit. The function realization unit 50 is configured as follows. The mouse input detection unit 51 is
The position information of the mouse cursor on the display 10, the information on the press and release of the mouse button, the presence or absence of the movement of the mouse 30, and some windows are displayed on the display 10, and the mouse 30 is different from the one window. Read movement information such as moving to the window.

The graphic window generator 52 generates or erases a window on the display 10 based on the information from the mouse input detector 51. A graphic pattern composed of a combination of a plurality of line segments is displayed in this window. The graphic pattern is stored in the graphic data 57. Intersection determining section 53
When the mouse represents a locus intersecting a line segment of a figure pattern, the line segment of the figure pattern intersecting the input line segment connecting the start point and the end point of this locus is obtained. The command sequence generation unit 54 reads the command correspondence table from the command correspondence data 58 that stores the command correspondence table indicating the correspondence between the graphic pattern line segments and the commands, and corresponds to the line segment determined by the intersection line determination unit 53. Decide the command sequence to
Issue to window system 40.

The data management unit 55 reads, stores, and updates the data of the graphic pattern displayed on the window and the data corresponding to the line segment of the graphic pattern and the command.
The data editing unit 56 supports updating of the data of the graphic pattern displayed on the window and the data corresponding to the line segment of the graphic pattern and the command.

Next, the operation will be described. Phase 1 (Window Generation, Graphic Display) When the system is activated, the data management unit 55 reads the graphic data and command corresponding data in the external storage device into the main memory. Further, the mouse input detection unit 51 reads the mouse cursor position on the display 10 when the system is started up, and the graphic window generation unit 52 creates a window at the read mouse cursor position, and based on the graphic data on this window. Display a line segment. The graphic data includes information about window attributes such as the size and background color of a window to be generated, and graphic information such as coordinates of line segments and line thickness displayed on the window. When the window is generated and the graphics are displayed, the control is transferred to phase 2.

Phase 2 (Determination and Execution of Command) Subsequently, the mouse input detection unit 51 depresses the mouse button /
Entering a state of waiting for input of information regarding release and movement. When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that "the mouse has moved out of the window", the termination process is performed and the system is terminated. In the termination processing, the graphic window generation unit 52 erases the window, and the data management unit 55 causes the graphic data in the main memory, the graphic data file in the external storage device when the command corresponding data is changed, and the command corresponding data. Update the file.

When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that "the mouse has been dragged within the window (moved while holding down the mouse button and released)", the intersection line determination unit 53 determines the drag start coordinate and end coordinate. The input line segment to be the end point is obtained, and the graphic window generation unit 52 displays the input line segment on the window. The intersection line calculation unit 53 subsequently obtains a line segment having an intersection with the input line segment while referring to the line segment information in the graphic data. At this time, if there is no line segment having an intersection, nothing is done and the mouse input detection unit 51 returns to the input waiting state. When there is an intersection with one or a plurality of line segments, the information regarding the line segment is passed to the command sequence generation unit 54. The command sequence generation unit 54 generates a corresponding command sequence based on the command generation information of the command correspondence data and issues it to the window system 40, or returns to the input waiting state of the mouse input detection unit 51. When the command issuance ends, the ending process is performed as described above, and the system is ended. When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that "the mouse has been clicked in the window (the mouse button is pressed and immediately released)", the control is shifted to phase 3.

Phase 3 (Editing of Data) The data editing unit 56 supports interactive updating of the data of the line segment graphic displayed on the window and the corresponding data of the line segment and the command. The graphic data and the command corresponding data on the main memory are updated according to the user's designation. If the end of editing is designated, control is returned to phase 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method for realizing a desired function. An existing window system is activated on the display 10 and some windows are displayed on the display 10. At this time, if you click the mouse button anywhere on display 10,
The system of the embodiment is activated, and a window with a small line drawing drawn at the position is generated as shown in the figure. 11
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the window. In this example, a triangle consisting of three line segments is drawn on the window. In this window, if you drag the mouse so that it intersects with the line segment on one side of the triangle, such as 12, a single line that connects the start and end points of the mouse drag will be drawn, as shown in 13. Then, the function assigned to the intersected side is executed, and the window disappears.

Next, the flow of processing will be described with reference to the flow chart. FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing in phase 1. When the system is activated, the mouse input detection unit 51 reads the coordinates of the mouse cursor position at the time of system activation and sets it as the window display position (step 61). The data management unit 55 reads necessary data from the graphic data file shown in FIG. 5 and the command corresponding data file shown in FIG. 6 from the external storage device (step 62).

In FIG. 5, the graphic data file is composed of window information, current pattern information, and pattern information. The window information consists of the size of the window to be displayed, background color, input / output attributes, etc. Name P1 of the graphic pattern to be displayed
Is shown. The pattern information is obtained by classifying a line figure into several patterns in a window, pattern identifiers (P1, P2, P3, P4, etc.) for each pattern, line segment information (line segment identifier (LINE-1), starting point). Coordinates, end coordinates,
Line color, line type, line thickness (X0, Y0, X1, Y1, 7,
0, 3)) is given. A plurality of patterns can be registered in one figure data file, and any number of line segments may be drawn in one pattern as long as the user can identify it.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the command-corresponding data file. In the left column, the line segment name intersecting the input line segment is described, and in the right column, the command name is described. A pattern identifier P4 is described in LINE-4, which will be described later.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a graphic pattern. P1
This figure shows the figure pattern of P4. Even if the number and type of line segments that are constituent elements are the same as in P1 and P2, the figure pattern can be changed by changing the coordinate values of the start and end points of the line segment. . It is also possible to change the thickness of the line segment as in P3, and change the type of line as in P4.

The graphic window generator 52 refers to the window display position and the window information to generate a window (step 63). The graphic window generator 52 refers to the pattern information of the current pattern and draws a line segment on the window by the constituent elements of the pattern (step 64).

Next, the flow of processing in phase 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The mouse input detection unit 51 enters a waiting state for mouse input issued by the window system. When there is a mouse input that satisfies the system conditions, control is passed to each section together with necessary information (step 65). When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that the mouse has moved out of the window, the ending process is performed (step 66). In the ending process, the graphic window generation unit 52 erases the window, and the data management unit 55 updates the graphic data file and the command-corresponding data file in the external storage device when the data change flag is ON. After the termination processing, the system is terminated (step 67).

When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that "the mouse has been dragged within the window", (step
68), and the intersection line determination unit 53 obtains an input line segment whose end points are the drag start coordinates and end coordinates (step 69). The figure window generator 52 displays the input line segment on the window (step 70). Next, the intersection line calculation unit 53 sequentially checks whether or not the line segments forming the current pattern have an intersection with the input line segment. If there is no line segment having an intersection, nothing is done and the mouse input detection unit 51 returns to the input waiting state. If there is an intersection with one or a plurality of line segments, the identifier of the line segment is passed to the command sequence generation unit 54 (step 71). The command sequence generation unit 54 generates a command sequence based on the command correspondence data read in phase 1 (step 72).

As shown in FIG. 6, the command-corresponding data file is composed of a set of data of "line segment identifier-command sequence" or "line segment identifier-pattern identifier". The line segment identifier in the left column is a combination of one or a plurality of line segment identifiers displayed on the window. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of selecting a graphic pattern. In the case of the graphic pattern P1 as shown in FIG. 9, six types of functions can be selected. The command sequence in the right column is a command sequence (command sequence + argument) executed when it is detected that these line segments have intersections with the input line segment. There is a pattern identifier in the right column instead of a command string, and the command is not executed at this stage, and the graphic (second graphic) pattern of the pattern identifier is drawn again on the window, and the user wants to execute it there. You will be selecting a command. This makes it possible to create hierarchical functions as shown in Figure 10.
The selection range of Noh can be expanded .

FIG. 10 shows an example of command hierarchization.
The case of P4 corresponding to NE-4 is shown. When LINE-4 intersects the input line segment, the graphic pattern P4 is displayed in the window, so that LINE-2 and LINE-5 can be selected, and COMMAND-2 or COMMAND-5 can be selected.
Can be selected.

When the left column in the command correspondence data has the same combination as the intersection line identifier and the right column is the command string, the right column is passed to step 73 as the command string to be executed. If the left column in the command correspondence data has the same combination as the intersection line identifier and the right column is the pattern identification, the pattern identifier in the right column is passed to step 74. If there is no combination in the left column of the command correspondence data that is the same as the intersection line identifier, nothing is done and the mouse input detection unit 51 returns to the input waiting state. The command sequence generated in step 73 is issued to the window system 40, after which termination processing is performed and the system is terminated.

The current pattern information in the graphic data is changed to the pattern identifier in the right column (step 74). Further, the figure window generator 52 displays a figure of a new pattern on the window, and the mouse input detector 51 returns to the input waiting state. When the mouse input detection unit 51 detects that the mouse has been clicked within the window (the mouse button has been pressed and immediately released), the control is shifted to phase 3 (step 75).

Next, the flow of processing in phase 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The pattern information next to the current pattern is searched for in the pattern information in the graphic data. If there is the next pattern, change the current pattern information (P
1, P2, P3, and so on), to step 77.
If there is no next pattern, it returns to the first pattern. The figure window generator 52 displays a figure of a new pattern on the window, and the mouse input detector 51 waits for input (step 77). Then it waits for mouse input from the window system (step
78). When it is detected that the right mouse button has been clicked (step 79), the phase 2 is ended and the process returns to the phase 3. When it is detected that "the left button of the mouse has been clicked" (step 80), the process returns to step 76 to search for and switch to the next pattern again.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention realizes a desired function only by designating a window generation position to generate a window, displaying a graphic pattern, and specifying a line segment of the graphic pattern. Therefore, even if the number of functions increases, a large area is not taken up on the display, and the time and labor required for selection can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of realizing a desired function.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of processing of Phase 1 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a graphic data file.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a command corresponding data file.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a graphic pattern.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of processing of Phase 2 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a selection diagram of graphic patterns.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of command hierarchization.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the process of phase 3 of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Display 20 Keyboard 30 Mouse 40 Window system 50 Function realization unit 51 Mouse input detection unit 52 Graphic window generation unit 53 Cross line determination unit 54 Command sequence generation unit 55 Data management unit 56 Data editing unit 57 Graphic data 58 Command data

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input unit for designating a window generation position and a line segment displayed in the generated window, a window generation unit for displaying a graphic pattern made up of a predetermined line segment at the window generation position, and the input. And a command table corresponding to the line segment of the window displayed by the window generation unit, and the line segment recognition unit generates the line segment by the input unit.
A function selecting unit which recognizes a line segment having an intersection with the input line segment and executes a command corresponding to the recognized line segment. 2. A second graphic pattern corresponding to a line segment is provided in the command table, and a command corresponding to the line segment of the second graphic pattern is set as described in the command table. When the line segment corresponding to the pattern is designated by the input section, the second figure pattern is displayed in a window so that the line segment of the second figure pattern can be designated.
The described function selection device. 3. The function selection device according to claim 1, wherein a combination of commands corresponding to line segments forming the graphic pattern of the command table can be updated. 4. The graphic pattern or the second graphic pattern is composed of line segments, and it is possible to combine one or more of a line type, a color, a line thickness, and a background color of each line segment. The function selection device according to claim 1, 2, or 3.