JPH04180119A - Locus recognizing and function executing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the input of graphics and simple characters without showing the choices on a display by deciding whether the locus produced by the continuous changes of the position data given from a pointing device corresponds to any of registered loci or not. CONSTITUTION:An operator moves a mouse 16 with push of a stroke command start button 32 and draws one of a triangle, a square, a character 'W', a character 'Z', etc. Thus a CPU 11 of a locus recognizing/function executing device compares the drawn figure with a graphic part of a graphic-command table registered previously. Then the CPU 11 translates the drawn figure into a command to draw a triangle, a square, a broken line, or an ellipse. Then the operator inputs a graphic apex, etc., and a desired graphic is shown on a display 22. Thus the input of graphics, etc., is attained just with operation of a pointing device. Then the plotting and data processing operations can be facilitated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a function execution device used in an information processing device such as a workstation or computer that can process information using a pointing device such as a mouse. In particular, the present invention relates to a trajectory recognition and function execution device that determines a trajectory caused by the operation of a pointing device and specifies a function to be executed by an information processing device.

"Prior Art" For example, when drawing on an information processing device such as a workstation, after selecting a figure to be drawn such as a circle or triangle, position data is input by operating a pointing device such as a mouse. These shapes are now drawn.

To select a shape to draw, display the shape selection menu at the bottom of the display screen and select it with the telekey or mouse, or display a drawing window and select There were methods such as selecting a desired figure from among them.

In addition to selecting shapes when drawing, in order to select various functions on the information processing device when fishing on a boat, you must select the desired location with a pointing device, press a function key on the keyboard, or press a button outside the keyboard. There were methods such as selecting a dedicated switch placed on the screen, or displaying a pop-up menu on the display and selecting the desired location.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" Among these, in information processing devices that display a figure selection menu, a window dedicated to drawing, or a pop-up menu to make a selection, the operation of displaying the menu or window, and the desired This method requires a two-step operation of selecting a function, and the work up to the selection of a function is complicated, and there is a problem in that the work cannot be done quickly.

In addition, in information processing devices where selections are made by pressing function keys on the keyboard or switches or keys outside the keyboard, it is necessary to arrange dedicated function keys and switches, which is difficult to achieve when there are many functions to select. There was a problem with becoming. Additionally, this device requires the operator to move his or her line of sight from the display to another location when selecting a function, which poses a problem in that efficient operations cannot be performed.

Furthermore, when selecting a function from a pop-up menu, there is a problem in that it is not possible to select a complex function, such as selecting a figure, such as a triangle, and manually inputting position data to draw the triangle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a trajectory recognition device that can manually draw figures and simple characters without displaying options on a display.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a function execution device that allows function selection using a display without displaying options on the display.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a function execution device that can also perform complex function selections without displaying options on a display.

"Means for Solving the Problem" In the invention described in claim 1, a pointing device such as a mouse for manually inputting position data and a trajectory are registered in correspondence with each of a plurality of predetermined functions. The trajectory recognition device is provided with a registration means, and a discrimination means for determining which of the trajectories registered in the registration means corresponds to a trajectory caused by continuous changes in position data input from a pointing device.

The invention according to claim 1 compares the data input manually from the pointing device with pre-registered trajectories to determine which of these trajectories has been input.
In the invention according to claim 2, characterized in that the above-mentioned first object is achieved by enabling manual input of figures and simple characters, a pointing device such as a mouse for inputting position data, and a pointing device such as a mouse for inputting position data, Determines which of the registration means corresponds to a trajectory registered in correspondence with each of a plurality of functions, and the trajectory registered in the registration means that occurs due to continuous changes in position data input from a pointing device. The function execution device is provided with a discriminating means for determining the function, and a function selecting means for selecting a function corresponding to the trajectory determined by the discriminating means.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to select a function by determining which function is specified from the recognized locus, thereby achieving the second object.

"Example" The present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples below.

FIG. 1 shows the main part of the circuit configuration of a trajectory recognition/function execution device in one embodiment of the present invention.

This trajectory recognition/function execution device includes a CPU (central processing unit) 11, and is connected to various circuit devices through a bus 12 such as a data bus.

Of these, the RAM 13 is a random access memory for temporarily storing programs for controlling the locus recognition/function execution device and various data for function determination. The human power control unit 14 is a circuit for manually controlling various data such as text and position data from the keyboard 15 and the mouse 1G connected thereto. In this embodiment, in addition to manually inputting position data, the mouse 16 also manually inputs data for function determination.

The disk control unit 17 is a circuit that controls data output between the magnetic disk 18 and the magnetic disk 18 . The magnetic disk 18 stores the above-mentioned programs, and can also store document data and other data to be saved as needed.

The display control unit 21 controls a display 2 such as a CRT.
2, character data etc. are visually displayed. The printer control unit 23 controls a printer 24 such as a laser printer to print out a document.

Note that although the trajectory recognition/function execution device of this embodiment uses the mouse 15 as a pointing device,
Other devices can be used in the same way as long as they are devices that can manually change position data continuously, such as joysticks, track holes, etc.

By the way, the trajectory recognition/function execution device of this embodiment realizes a desired function through the following three processes.

(1) Process of data collection: This trajectory recognition/function execution device can use the mouse 16 to collect position data regarding the trajectory of the cursor.

FIG. 2 shows a mouse used in this embodiment. In this way, the mouse 16 has three buttons 31 to 3.
3 is provided. The center button 32 among these is called a stroke command activation button. mouse 1
When the stroke command activation button 32 is pressed when moving the cursor 6, position data representing the trajectory of the cursor is sequentially collected from this point onwards. Collection of position data ends when the stroke command activation button 32 is released.

(i) Process of shape discrimination: From the set of position data obtained in the previous process, data caused by errors can be removed to obtain a set of position data that is considered valid. When a shape including vertices, such as a triangle, is drawn using the mouse 16, a plurality of position data corresponding to the vertices may exist at one location due to human hand movement. In order to accurately determine the shape even in such a case, the trajectory recognition/function execution device of this embodiment (a) first determines the position data of the apex by removing blur. (b) Furthermore, by connecting the vertices obtained in this manner with a straight line, non-linearity caused by blurring when a human draws a straight line using the mouse 16 is corrected. (C
') Then, the shape can be determined by finding the vector between the vertices.

Note that when the operator draws a curved line such as a circle, more points that can be seen as vertices appear than when the operator draws a normal figure.

In addition, there is a regularity in the change in direction of each straight line found by connecting the vertices. This makes it possible to distinguish between figures that do not actually have vertices and figures that do have vertices, such as triangles.

(1) Process of function execution: Once the shape drawn by the operator is determined, a function corresponding to the shape is selected and executed.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of control for function execution by this trajectory recognition/function execution device. Assume that the operator moves the mouse 16 on the desk while pressing the stroke command activation button 32 and tries to input a certain type of input. In this case, first, a coordinate table "PM)" is generated (step (3) in FIG. 3). Here, the coordinate table refers to a table in which position data of all points taken by moving the mouse 16 are arranged and stored on the time axis. In this specification, the symbol "()" represents a set of data. This coordinate table "P (-)" and other tables described later are all formed on the RAM 13.

Once the coordinate table is created, the points indicated by each position data are connected in order to create a vector representing the length and direction. These vectors are collected to generate a vector table "V()" (step 2).

Next, points that are close to each other to some extent are collected to create a nearby point table "N()" representing a set of these points (step 2). These points can be extracted by comparing the length of each vector contained in the vector table "V([") with a reference value.

Next, a vertex table "T()" is generated on the assumption that the positions of each group of points stored in this proximity point table "N()" correspond to vertices (step 2).

For example, if the operator operates the mouse 16 to draw a triangle, many points will be concentrated at three positions, so a table representing three vertices will be generated.

Once the vertices have been determined in this way, select the point that is estimated to be the most appropriate from among the multiple points placed near the vertices in the coordinate table “PC)” obtained in the previous step ①. , the work of discarding points in its vicinity is performed (step ■). This is to take into account the fact that when drawing vertices, multiple points close to each other are sampled due to hand movement.

Once the vertices have been determined, the discarded points are also deleted from the vertex table “T()” and the modified vertex table “T()” is created.
′ ()” is created (step ■).

Since the vertices are determined through the above steps, we can draw a figure connecting these vertices in order. This figure is the first of the following
As shown in the table as an example, it is compared with the graphic part of the graphic-command correspondence table registered in advance in the trajectory recognition/function execution device, and translated into a command with a matching graphic (step 2).

(Left space below) Table 1 If the conversion to a command is successful, the corresponding command will be executed (step ■).

For example, the operator operates the mouse 16 to draw a triangle, and if this is recognized, the mode shifts to a triangle input mode, and when the operator inputs three new points, a triangle with those vertices is displayed on the display 22. It will be displayed.

In addition, if this trajectory recognition/function execution device is to execute two commands at the same time, for example, a command to "draw a triangle" and a command to "paint the inside of a figure black," the two commands You can first manually create a shape that means that the command is to be manually performed, and then manually create the shapes for the two commands in order. good.

FIG. 4 specifically shows the process of generating the coordinate table "P()". The CPU II shown in FIG. 1 monitors whether the stroke command activation button 32 is pressed (Step 4 in FIG. 4). Then, when the stroke command activation button 32 is pressed (Y), the RA
Initialize the coordinate table "PC" in MI a (step ■). Then, the cursor position data (coordinate data) P, , are written into this table (step ■).

Writing of position data is performed continuously at a predetermined cycle until the stroke command activation button 32 is released (step 2: N). When the stroke command activation button 32 is released, the coordinate table "P(l") is completed.

Depending on the device, the stroke command activation button 3
Even if you monitor the time from when 2 is pressed until it is released, and if this is too short or too long, the generation of the coordinate table "PC" is disabled, assuming that the button operation was done without purpose. good.

FIG. 5 specifically shows the generation of the vector table "V()". First, before starting work, RAM1
The vector table “V()” in 3 is initialized (5th
Figure step ■), the number l representing the number of vectors is “1m
(step ■). Then, a vector V1 connecting the second point P2 and the first point P1 stored in the coordinate table 'P()'' is obtained (step
). Generally, the first vector V8 can be determined by the following equation (1).

V, =P,. 1-Pl... (1) Once the vector V1 is obtained, it is stored in the vector table "
V()” (step ■).

At this stage, the CPU II determines that the value 1 is in the coordinate table “P(
)", check whether the number is equal to the total number of points accommodated in ``1'' minus 1. If not, you can still create a vector, so go back to step ■ and do the same. Repeat this process to add vector v1 to vector table “V()” (steps ■ to ■). When all vectors have been processed (step ■; Y), vector table “V[)” is completed. (end).

FIG. 6 specifically shows the generation of the proximity point table "N()". First, before starting work, RAM13
The nearby point table "N()" in the vector table "V()" is initialized (step ■ in Figure 6).Next, the numerical value l representing the number of the vector in the vector table "V()" is set to "1". (Step ■), the vector v1 is selected. Then, it is checked whether the length of this vector Vl exists for five pixels or more (Step ■).

In this example, if it is 5 pixels or more, it is assumed that it is not a nearby point, and it is determined whether the value l is equal to the total number of points stored in the coordinate table "PC" minus 1. Check (step ■). Then, if it is determined that all the work has not been completed, the number 1 is changed to “1”.
” (step ■), return to step ■, and perform the same process for the next vector (steps ■, ■
).

By the way, if the length of the vector V becomes 4 pixels or less in step (2), the points at both ends of the vector V1 are determined to be adjacent points (N). In this case, the nearby point n□
"l" is set to a numerical value of 1 (step 2), and the nearby point n is stored in the nearby point table "N()" (step 2).

Thereafter, each nearby point is stored in the nearby point table "N()" in the same way, and when all vectors have been examined (step ■; Y), the nearby point table "N()" is completed (
end).

FIG. 7 specifically shows the generation of the vertex table "T()". In this case as well, first, prior to the work, the vertex table "T()" in the RAM 13 is initialized (step (2) in FIG. 6). Next, the number l representing the number of vectors is set to "1" (step ■), and since this is the starting point, it is stored in the vertex table "T()" as the first vertex ( Step ■).

Next, the first vector V1 and the (i+1)th vector V. It is determined whether the absolute value of the angle 1<ABS) is less than 20 degrees (step ■). If it is less than 20 degrees (Y), check whether the value] is equal to the total number of points stored in the coordinate table "P()" minus 1 (Step ■), which must be equal. (N), since the detection of vertices has not yet been completed, add "1" to the value and return to step (2).

Note that the angle cannot be determined in step ■ when only the first vector has been extracted, but in this case
It is processed as being less than 0 degrees, and the process proceeds to step (3).

By the way, in step ■, the angle between the two vectors is 2.
If it is 0 degrees or more (N), it is determined that it is a vertex, and "1" of the vertex data t1 is set as the value l (step ■),
Store vertex data t in vertex table “T()” (
Step ■).

Similarly, each vertex data 1. is the vertex table “T(
)” and all vectors V, have been examined (step ■; Y), add the end point to the vertex table “T()” (step ■). As a result, the vertex table “T ()” is completed (end).

FIG. 8 is a diagram for specifically explaining the adjustment of the vertex deviation of the coordinate table "P(')".

To perform this task, the CPU II uses the coordinate table “P”.
()" to create the coordinate table "P'()" (Step ■ in Figure 8). Then, the coordinate table "P'
Regarding "()", invalid data due to "shaking" will be deleted.

Therefore, both the numerical value i and the numerical value J are set to "1" (
Step ■). Then, a point nj near the third point p'
Then, it is checked whether the vertex P'(ti) is a point caused by the operator's camera shake from point P' (step 2). In this embodiment, the range of camera shake is set to 16 pixels. As a result, if 16 pixels are undropped (N), the point P' is deleted from the coordinate table "P'()" as it is due to vertex blur (step
).

This work is repeated until all the data are completed (steps ■ to ). The value j is the proximity point table“
When the number N()" is reached (step ■; Y), the number 1 is added by 1 (step ■) unless the number l reaches the number in the vertex table "T()", and the same operation is performed. Repeated until the data is finished (steps ■～■)
.

- When the number 1 reaches the number of the vertex table ""M)" (step ■; Y), the vertex table "T'()" is created based on the blur-adjusted coordinate table "P'()".
is created (step @).

FIG. 9 specifically shows the work of translating a figure manually created by the operator into a command based on the vertex table "T'()".

First, the vector set table "C()°" is initialized. Next, the CPU II checks whether the number of vertex tables "T'()" is 2 or more (step ■). ” (N), no figure is formed and the process ends (end).

If the number of vertices is 2 or more (Y), set the value l to "1" (Step ■), and set the direction of the vector between the two vertices (
ti, l) is determined and added to the vector set table "C()" (step ■). At this time, the first
As shown in Figure 0, the direction of the vector is divided into eight directions, and each direction is assigned a number from "1" to "8".

After adding the direction of the vector, the value l is added by 1 (step ■), and the value l after this addition is added to the vertex table "
A determination is made as to whether the number is smaller than the number of vectors T'()" (step ■). If this is a small number, the direction of each vector is checked, and the results are stored in the vector set table " (1)” (steps ■ to ■).

When the number 1 becomes equal to the number in the vertex table "T'[)" (step ■; Y), check whether there is a command that matches this number column in the command name table placed on RAMI 3. A check is performed (step ■). Table 2 below shows an example of a command name table.

(Left space below) Table 2 If a matching value exists in this command name table (Y), the command is executed (step ■), and if it does not exist, the process ends as an error (end).

"Modified Example" FIG. 11 shows a command name table with a step structure in the first modified example.

The command name table for this modification is
, and a second table 42 with two-digit numerical values. The table portion to be referred to is switched depending on whether the numerical value is one digit or not.

FIG. 12 shows the contents of the command interpretation work of a trajectory recognition/function execution device having such a table. The CPU 1 shown in Figure 1 first checks whether the number of the vector set table "C()" is "1" (Figure 12 step ■), and if it is "1" (Y).
, and reads the corresponding command by looking at the first table 41 (step ■).

On the other hand, if the number of the vector set table "C()" is not "1" (N), the second table 42 is searched, and if the corresponding value exists (step ■; Y),
Read the command corresponding to this number (step ■)
. If the corresponding value does not exist (N), the command is not read (End).

In the example shown in Figure 11, a two-digit number was recognized, so
The second table 42 is referenced and "move"
command is selected. For example, if you remove the one-digit number "3" from the first table,
” exists, the second table may be referred to unconditionally.

In this latter case, the second table stores pairs of numerical data and commands starting with the numerical value "3".

In the embodiment described above, for example, when attempting to draw a quadrilateral, the user is first made aware that a quadrilateral or polygon is to be drawn, and then the quadrilateral is drawn by specifying four points or two diagonal points. A second modification described below attempts to further improve efficiency by sharing the human power of commands and the position designation of graphic input.

FIG. 13 shows how the command name table is interpreted in the second modification.

In this work, we first create a vector set table “C()”.
A vector set table "C'()" is obtained by deleting the last vector C7 from (step 2). and,
It is determined whether a command name corresponding to this vector set table "C'()" exists in the table (step (2)), and if so, the command name is read (step (2)). Then, the vertex table “T′ ()” in which the last stored vertex t7 in the vertex table
T′ ()”, find the minimum value and maximum value among them, and use these as position data for specifying the rectangle (step ■).Then, the two obtained vertices j′h−1s
t',,-2 as operation specification information (step ■),
A command name that is a combination of rectangle information and operation specification information is executed (step ■).

On the other hand, if the command name corresponding to the vector set table "C'()" does not exist in the command name table in step ■ (N), the command name that corresponds to the vector set table "C ()" exists in the original vector set table "C ()". A check is made to see if this is the case (step ■).

Then, the command name is read from the table (step (2)), and the minimum and maximum values are determined from the vertex table "T'()" and these are used as rectangle information (step (2)).

Then, the two obtained vertices i' n-1, j' h
-2 as operation designation information (step 2), a command name that is a combination of rectangle information and operation designation information is executed (step 2).

Although rectangles have been described above, the figure creation work can be similarly executed for other figures such as triangles using compound command names.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the invention as claimed in claim 1, it is possible to manually draw figures etc. by simply operating a pointing device, so even people who are not familiar with languages can easily perform drawings and data processing. It has the advantage of being able to

Furthermore, in the invention as claimed in claim 2, since functions are executed in correspondence with recognized figures, etc., various tasks can be performed efficiently by remembering various functions in relation to visual information such as figures. It can be carried out.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures N1 to 10 are for explaining the present invention in detail. Among them, Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of the circuit configuration of the trajectory recognition/function execution device, and Figure 2 is used in this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an overview of the control of function execution by the trajectory recognition/function execution device, and Fig. 4 specifically shows the process of generating the coordinate table "P()". Figure 5 shows the vector table “V [ )”
Fig. 6 is a flowchart specifically showing the generation of the nearby point table "N()";
The figure is a flowchart specifically showing the generation of the vertex table "T()", FIG. 8 is a flowchart specifically showing the adjustment of the vertex deviation of the coordinate table "P()", and FIG. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the numerical correspondence of vector directions, Figures 11 and 12 The figures are for explaining the first modification of the present invention, of which Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how the command name table is read, and Figure 12 is a command interpretation diagram of the trajectory recognition/function execution device. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of interpreting the command name table in the second modification of the present invention. 11...CPU, 13...RAM. 15... Keyboard, 16... Mouse, 18... Magnetic disk, 22... Display. Applicant: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent Attorney Umeo Yamauchi
-73 / Article ＼ 654 Figure 11 Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pointing device for inputting position data, a registration means for registering trajectories corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined functions, and a position input from the pointing device. A trajectory recognition device characterized by comprising: a determining means for determining to which of the trajectories registered in the registration means a trajectory caused by continuous changes in data corresponds. 2. A pointing device for inputting position data, a registration means that registers trajectories corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined functions, and continuous changes in the position data input from the pointing device. and a function selecting means for selecting a function corresponding to the trajectory determined by the determining means. Characteristic function execution device.