JPH01175021A - Coordinate input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the moving distance of a mouse body and to improve the operability of the title device by providing the device with plural mouse cursors. CONSTITUTION:When the mouse body 4 is moved, an active mouse cursor 2 is moved synchronously with the movement of the body 4. When a mouse button 5 is depressed, the active mouse cursor 2 goes a real cursor, and when the mouse body 4 is moved under said state, a cursor 3 is moved synchronously with the movement of the body 4. When the mouse cursor is to be moved to a required position, the mouse cursor existing on a position close to the position to be moved is turned to an active cursor to reduce the moving distance of the mouse body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a coordinate input device suitable for use in multitasking processing.

(Prior Art) With the development of man-machine interfaces, increasingly sophisticated functions have been required of displays, which form the core of such interfaces.

Graphics display 5. Examples are multi-color and multi-window. A mouse is commonly used as a pointing device on a display, and because of its excellent user interface, it is used as a means of input in many applications.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Conventionally, only one mouse cursor exists on the display, and moves on the display in synchronization with the movement of the mouse body. Therefore, when moving the mouse cursor from the upper end to the lower end or from the left end to the right end, the amount of movement of the mouse body becomes large, which has the disadvantage that the movement of the hand also becomes large. Particularly in the case of large-screen displays, increasing the precision of mouse cursor movement tends to increase the amount of movement of the mouse body. On the other hand, recently, multitasking processing has been realized in the field of personal computers, and there has been a demand for improvements in user interfaces.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and aims to minimize the movement of the mouse body when using the mouse.
We also propose a coordinate input device that functions as a conventional pointing device while maintaining the precision of mouse cursor movement! , the purpose is to.

[Invention (&Creation)]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a human coordinate system using a mouse button that activates only one mouse cursor that points to a position on a display screen. A mouse body equipped with a cursor driver that saves the position information of each mouse cursor each time it is moved and moves the mouse cursor in synchronization with the movement of the mouse body, and a mouse button that selects the mouse cursor to be activated. It consists of a switch that passes control to the cursor driver, and a single mouse driver that processes input from the mouse.

(Operation) In the above configuration, the movement of the mouse body is processed by the mouse driver along with the pressed state of the button. Switching of the active mouse by pressing a mouse button is communicated to the switch. The switch notifies the cursor driver of the mouse cursor that should become active. Only the cursor driver for the mouse cursor that has become active performs processing to move the mouse cursor.

As a result, the amount of movement of the mouse body can be reduced, and the user interface can be further improved.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the device according to the invention. In the figure, 1 is a CRT display. 2
is an active mouse cursor that moves in synchronization with the movement of the mouse body, and 3 is a mouse cursor that does not move until it becomes active. 4 is a mouse body, and 5 is a mouse button. 6 is a collection of menus selected with the mouse.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which 1
5 are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, and 7 is a window.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of software that implements the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a CRT display;
1 is a mouse, and 12 is a mouse input driver that processes input from the mouse. 13' is a switch section for selecting an active mouse cursor, and 14 is a system call section for processing system calls from a user program.

15 is a user program; 16 is a cursor driver that processes multiple cursors; and 17 to 19 are drivers for each mouse cursor, including one active mouse cursor.

Hereinafter, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail. First, when the mouse body 4 is moved, the active mouse cursor is moved in synchronization with the movement. Thereafter, when the mouse button 5 is pressed, the active mouse cursor becomes a real cursor, and when the mouse body 4 is moved, the cursor 3 starts to move in synchronization with it. As a result, when you move the mouse cursor to the position you want to move, by activating the mouse cursor that is close to the position you want to move, you can reduce the amount of movement of the mouse body.

Next, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be explained. There is one mouse cursor for each window, and the active mouse cursor and active window match. In this embodiment, when mouse button 5 is pressed to activate another cursor, the window in which the cursor is located becomes active. In both the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the active mouse cursor can be switched not only by the mouse button but also by a system call of the user program.

The above-mentioned operation is shown in FIG.
This will be explained using a diagram. The figure shows the operation of software that handles multiple mouse cursors. First, movements of the mouse body and events of mouse buttons are processed by the mouse input driver 12, and if the active mouse is switched by pressing a mouse button, control is passed to the switch unit 13. Information on mouse movement and mouse button events are also passed to the user program 15 as necessary. The switch section 13 is
Notify the cursor driver 16 of the mouse cursor that should become active. Some cursor drivers include cursor drivers 17, 18, and 19 for each mouse cursor.
/j exists, and only the cursor driver of the mouse cursor that has become active performs processing to move the mouse cursor on the CRTIO. Switching of the active mouse cursor from the user program 15 is executed by issuing a system call so that the system call section 14 notifies the switch section 13 of the switching of the mouse cursor.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described only with respect to a mouse cursor on a CRT display, the same method can also be applied to moving a cursor when keys on a keyboard are manually operated.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention as described above, the amount of movement of the mouse body is reduced, and the user can quickly move to the point on the CRT that he or she wants to move. For example, if there are menus to select with the mouse at the top and bottom of the CRT, you can select from the top menu by activating the mouse cursor at the top, and from the bottom menu by activating the mouse cursor at the bottom. , it is no longer necessary to move one mouse cursor from top to bottom. Also, if you assign one mouse to one window and switch the active window, the mouse cursor in that window will become active. , the user interface will be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a software structure for realizing the invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Mouse body, 12... Mouse input driver, 13... Switch part, 16... Cursor driver. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1
Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] The mouse body is equipped with a mouse button that activates only one mouse cursor that points to a position on the display screen among multiple mouse cursors, and the position information of each mouse cursor is saved each time it is moved, and the mouse cursor is adjusted to the movement of the mouse body. Each cursor drive is moved in synchronization, and a switch that selects the mouse cursor to be activated by the mouse button and passes control to the corresponding cursor driver;
A coordinate input device comprising a single mouse driver that processes input from a mouse.