Input device

• US 20060170711A1
• Filed: 01/25/2006
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ohshita, Kazuhito
• Granted Patent: US 7,626,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/672
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

An input device allowing an operator to select any one of selection items of a pop-up menu with an easy operation is provided. The input device includes two kinds of operation units configured to output a coordinate translation signal in at least one direction and a control unit configured to control display information on a display screen on the basis of the coordinate translation signal output from operation unit. When scrollable display information is displayed and the pop-up menu is not displayed on the display screen, the control unit scrolls the display information on the basis of the coordinate-translation signal, and, when the scrollable display information and the pop-up menu are both displayed on the display screen, the control unit controls sequentially high-lighting of a plurality of selection items of the pop-up menu on the basis of the coordinate-translation signal.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

operation means for outputting a coordinate-translation signal in at least one direction through operation; and

control means for controlling a display state of display information on a display screen on the basis of the coordinate-translation signal output from the operation means,

wherein, on the basis of the coordinate-translation signal, the control means controls scrolling of the display information and hiqhlighting of a plurality of selection items of a pop-up menu, respectively, when the pop-up menu is not displayed on the display screen and when scrollable display information and the pop-up menu are displayed on the display screen.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the operation means includes an output section configured to output a two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal or a one-dimensional coordinate-translation signal, and the control means performs a controlling operation on the basis of the corresponding coordinate-translation signal.

3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the operation means is a mouse, and, by operating a wheel placed on the mouse, the coordinate-translation signal is generated.

4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the mouse includes an operation-instructing section, and, wherein, on the basis of a two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal, the control means moves a pointer designed to move on the display screen onto a menu, and, upon operation of the operation-instructing section, displays the pop-up menu accompanying the menu pointed by the pointer.

5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the operation means is a flat input device configured to output a two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal, and the control means serves for moving a pointer on the display screen on the basis of the two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal, and, wherein, when the pop-up menu is displayed and the pointer is not located on the pop-up menu, the control means controls sequentially highlighting of a plurality of selection items of the pop-up menu on the basis of a one-dimensional translation signal component of the two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal.

6. The input device according to claim 5, wherein, when the pop-up menu is not displayed, the control means controls scrolling of the display information on the basis of the one-dimensional translation signal component of the two-dimensional coordinate-translation signal.